Hunter x Hunter: In my Eyes
by HitmanTargetsYou
Summary: Yuki is a normal boy who is taking the exam with his cousin because his uncle says it's like the ultimate training... so he says. Gon believes it, but Killua is having second thoughts. (Killua x MALE oc, so yes, this is yaoi.) CAUTION: There may be a large amount of vulgar words used, so if you're a clean mouth, you won't like my OC ***ON HIATUS***
1. His name is Yuki

With a sigh, I rocked back and forth on my feet. This was so boring~

I looked around and mainly sighed. Chie, my friend and exam-taker 95, tried on numerous occasions to get me to talk to someone, but I wasn't interested. I'm exam taker 96, by the way. I turned around and saw a rather round man wearing a blue shirt and yellow long-sleeved one underneath. His light-brown hair was slicked back and he also had thick eyebrows. I looked at his badge.

No. 16, eh...?

He smiled cheerfully and pulled out a juice can.

"Hey, I haven't seen you two before. Are you guys rookies?" He asked. I nodded my head wordlessly. This guy seemed so cheerful and happy, but I couldn't let my guard down. He held out his hand for me to shake.

"I'm Tonpa, and this is my 36th time trying!"

I raised an eyebrow, me and Chie exchanging looks.

"I admire persistence." I faked, trying not to put too much sarcasm into my voice. Chie always told me I could be too rude at times. I took his hand and shook it, trying to smile. Tonpa kept talking about how he was excited for this years exam, but I mainly looked for other newcomers. That was when I saw an interesting white-haired boy walk in. He took a badge from the little green guy in a suit and looked around.

"Do you want a drink?"

I snapped back into focus and looked back at Tonpa. "What?"

"Do you want a drink?" He repeated. I looked into his eyes and scoffed. Knew it, this guy was trouble.

'_Man, after this kid gets the laxative, I'm outta here! His eyes are so creepy, it's like he's dead!_'

I took the can out of his hands and threw it behind me. "Let's go Chie, this guy is one of those Rookie Crushers or what-not Master Yuu talked about." She nodded and the both of us decided to hang out against a wall.

"It hasn't even been two hours and someone is already trying to ruin us." I muttered. But... that comment about my eyes really annoyed me. Maybe I wouldn't have been so rude if he hadn't said I was like some dead guy. I growled under my breath. It would probably help to explain that my eyes are rather... dull. And almost lifeless. They weren't always like this, though, they did actually used to be just a shade of sapphire. Then, I began to mind-read.

But as I continued to use this ability that I discovered when I turned seven, I began to notice my eyes. They had begun to get paler and duller. This upset me at first because I valued my eyes more than anything. My mother always said it was like looking into my fathers, whom I never got to meet. He died before I was born. So yeah, it was like a sign he was still there, even though he never got to be physically there. Cheesy, huh? Well, then I realized that the beauty of my eyes was like the price to pay in order to use this. So then, I just stopped caring. I only wanted to get stronger. To defeat a certain someone...

As I began to daydream, I felt a presence. A presence that wasn't Chies'...

I looked up and saw the white-haired boy looking at me. His cold eyes were the strangest shade between blue and purple. He wore a dark-blue turtle neck under a white v-neck T-Shirt. His purple shorts were baggy and reached to his knees, his shoes were... quite... maybe funky was the right word? He was also holding a yellow skateboard with a red arrow streaked in the middle.

Well anyways, all I knew was that I caught his attention and he caught mine. I looked into his eyes and the thought script worked it's magic.

'_Oh hey, a kid that looks my age. Maybe he can entertain me for a little._'

I sighed and straightened up. The boy strode towards me and he stopped just in front of me. He smiled and held out his hand.

"Hey, I didn't expect to see another kid here. I'm Killua Zoldyck, 12 years old. You?"

"Yuki, 12 years old." I tensed for a bit. He was a Zoldyck. ZOLDYCK. Every thought in my head told me to get away from him, but I stayed. Killua looked at me for a bit and then sighed.

"It's _so _boring here. I wonder when the exam will really start." He grinned once more and got on his skate board.

I shrugged and turned to Chie, whom pulled out a book and started reading. Killua, noticing that we both were wearing similar red cloaks, he asked, "Are you two partners?"

"Yeah, she's my cousin." I answered. "What about you? Do you have any siblings, cousins, uncles, etc...?" Of course I already knew the answer, but I just wanted to get a conversation going.

"Yeah, I've got siblings. And I've also got a grandma and a grandpa."

"Hn."

We both had a short moment of awkward silence, but then Killua spoke again. "So, you got any hobbies?"

Hobbies? Hm. I never really had time to do anything I wanted to do, since my teacher was always training me and Chie. "Not really. You?" Killua grinned and flipped his skateboard up and into his hands, holding it up. "Skateboarding, of course. And many other things, but I'll tell them later..."

"Hm. Well, our time was short Killua-kun, but I have to talk to my cousin about something important."

I grabbed Chie's wrist and began to drag her off, trying to find another place to stay with just enough privacy to not be noticed. "Killua. Just call me Killua." He called out. I turned my head and smiled, making a thumbs-up to show that I heard him.

"What's the real reason for leaving...?" Chie questioned, not looking away from her book.

"He's a Zoldyck. That automatically makes him danger."


	2. Hisoka's a Creeper

I guess Chie could be called my 'first friend'. She's nice and always knows how to make me smile, plus the fact that she's really kinda pretty. Her short hair is jet-black and smells like strawberry milk whilst her eyes are just the _creamiest _brown..! Yeah, I know, she's supposed to be my "cousin", but she really isn't. But, that will be explained later.

So anyways, as we were chatting, a shutter door opening caught my attention. Turning my head towards the noise, the shutter fully opened and revealed the man behind it. It was a rather tall male wearing a dark purple suit and had light purple hair. I couldn't see his eyes clearly, but I did notice his strange mustache.

He lectured us for a bit before explaining what to do. "So we just have to run, eh?" I turned back to Chie and she nodded.

-TIMESKIP-

So, that didn't really effect me one bit. I looked around at all the tired examinees and sighed. This was boring so far...!

Spacing out again, I barely noticed an injured guy freaking out near us. His screaming snapped my attention back to what was going on, and all I saw was him pulling out-

"OH LORD, WHAT IS THAT _THING_?!"

Everyone stared at me. I hate it whenever I space out, I embarrass myself. I laughed nervously and scratched my head. So the guy explained it was some swamp-monster and disguises as humans to lure other humans. Before it convinced all the exam takers, the injured guy who claimed to be the real examiner was suddenly stabbed... by cards?! I looked at Satotz and kinda just stared in awe. He caught the cards.

"I see, I see... That settles it. You're the real one. Examiners are hunters selected by the committee to perform this duty without pay. Any hunter, bearing the title we seek, would have been able to dodge that attack." A magician-like jester/clown dude/whatever-the-fuck he was supposed to be said, playing with his cards. I couldn't even believe what he just did.

"Who's he?" I muttered. "His name is Hisoka." I turned around and saw Tonpa again. I shrugged, turning back around.

"I shall take that as a compliment. However, should you attack me again for any reason, I will report you for turning on an examiner. You will be immediately disqualified. Are we clear?" Satotz replied, untroubled. Hisoka smiled.

"Sure."

Hisoka is _creepy_.

So Satotz explained what to do next and began to run into the swampy forest. Chie sighed and grabbed my hand, pulling me with her.

We reached the forest and immediately heard screams for help and terror. Damn. Nature is scary. I tried to block out all the screams and just tried to focus on what was happening right now.

"Chie, let go of my hand. I'm not a child-well, technically I am, but I can take care of myself!" I reassured. She shook her head but loosened her grip on my hand.

"I absolutely must not lose you here, Yu- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH~!"

Suddenly, she just disappeared. Wait, wasn't that just a squeal? That was cute. That was the first girly sound she's ever made, actually. Back on topic, I looked around frantically. Oooh the irony.

"Ch-Chie?! Where are you?!"

"D-Down here..."

I looked under my feet and found Chie stuck in a hole. I was about to jump in after her, but she shook her head.

"Go on without me. I'll find a way out."

I nodded and ran ahead. Now, since I was alone, I just ran wherever my feet took me, hoping to find the main group. As I darted around aimlessly, hoping that luck would be on my side, I could faintly see two figures in front of me. I picked up speed and began to see them more clearly. There was a blonde that kinda looked like a girl from behind wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and white pants while the tall guy next to him was shirtless, wore blue dress pants, and had spiky black hair.

"Hey-!"

"Shhhh!"

They both turned around, the blonde grabbing me and covering my mouth. I struggled, but looked to where he was pointing. My eyes widened, and I watched what they were watching. Just a little far away from us was a group of examinees crowding around Hisoka. They appeared to be in a defensive stance.

"How'd you get here?" The blonde asked, uncovering my mouth.

I didn't know how to answer. But, soon enough, Hisoka just pulled out a card and killed every guy that attacked him. The lead man looked frightened and tried to crawl away, but Hisoka smoothly threw a card into the back of his head. Then, he turned to us.

"Well? Care to participate in my little game of examiner?"

I gulped. My entire body froze, and I stared into his eyes.

'_They look scared... well, they should be. That look on their faces never ceases to satisfy me..._'

I couldn't get my eyes away. I was scared. My legs were limp and my mind went blank. The blonde was saying something about running, but I was too panicked.

"NOW!"

The both of them sprinted at different directions. Holy crapola, I was supposed to go with them, wasn't I? But it didn't matter. I couldn't move.

_I'm... I'm going to die here... in the hands of someone full of bloodlust and insanity..._

I almost began to cry. My eyes widened and sweat dropped down my face.

"I see... a wise decision." Hisoka remarked, chuckling to himself. But then he looked at me, and that sick smile formed on his lips. "But what about you, little boy...?"

He strode towards me, pulling a card out. With the flick of his hand, I snapped back into reality and dodged the card he just shot at me. But, it still hit my shoulder. The pain was sharp and I fell backward on my bottom.

Shit.

Blood oozed out of my wound, and I ripped the card out of my shoulder with a cry of pain. Hisoka seemed to be enjoying it. Before he could advance any further, he suddenly looked up.

"Hmm?"

I looked at where he was looking at. A shadowy figure came walking over, and I realized who it was.

"I just can't do it... This may not be my fight, but I won't close my eyes and make a break for it!" The glasses guy said, a look of determination written all over his face. He then charged at Hisoka with a thick stick.

I stared at Leoiro in awe. What a... brave guy... But he was still weak against Hisoka. When he hit him, Hisoka suddenly turned to smoke. I tried to stand up and warn him that he was behind him, but that's when a weird red thing hit Hisoka's face. I looked to the direction where it came from and saw that it was a small guy who looked my age. He was heaving, but he looked relieved. His hair was black and spikey, and his eyes were a troubled brown.

"Gon?"

Well, now I know his name is Gon.

"I...I made it in time..." He mumured.

Hisoka turned around and faced Gon.

"Not bad, little boy. Is that a fishing pole? What a fascinating weapon. Allow me a closer look."

I looked at Gon and noticed he _was_ using a fishing pole. Interesting... Suddenly, Glasses-guy charged at Hisoka again, but with one punch, he was out of the game. Then Hisoka and Gon began to spar, but it was completely one-sided.

"I'm beginning to get excited now..."

Shuddering, I already knew what Hisoka meant by that statement. Eew...

Hisoka had Gon in a choke hold. I prayed desperately that Gon kicked him or something. If not, I would have to step in! I stood up with shaky legs and prepared to charge when surprisingly, he let Gon go. Gon fell to the ground on all fours, breathing for air.

Hisoka squat down and said something to him, and then turned to me.

"And of course, you pass as well. You did a nice job dodging that card I threw. Had you stayed still, it would have sliced your throat~ "

I gulped and put my hand to my throat to check if it was okay. Yep. Hisoka put Leoiro over his shoulder and said something to Gon again, then turned to me.

"You both can find your way back, yes?"

We both nodded wordlessly and he walked into the thick fog.

"Gon! Kid! Are you two alright?" I walked towards Gon and helped him up. I was kinda blanked out about how close my death was. The blonde ran over and checked on us. Gon looked at me and smiled.

"What's your name?" He asked.

I looked at him and and the blonde.

"Y-Yuki... "

"I'm Gon!"

"And I'm Kurapika. The guy who got beat up was Leorio."

-TIMESKIP #2-

When we reached the destination, I sighed with relief. We looked around for Leorio and found him all beat up against a tree. We made our way towards him and they exchanged a few words. Kurapika leaned down towards my ear, whispering for me not to tell him what happened. I nodded and gave him a thumbs up. Leorio looked at me and then at Gon.

"Whose this kid?" He asked.

Gon looked at me and gasped a bit. He pointed to my shoulder where I was stabbed. Blood had began to spread downwards. Aw, my white shitagi was going to be hard to clean now!

"Yuki, you're bleeding pretty badly! Leorio, can you treat him?" Gon asked him. Leorio nodded and then he motioned for me to come over.

I sat down and Leorio opened his brief case. I took off my cloak and put it next to me. I then took off my shitagi(Yeah, some people have looked at me strangely, but I really don't care).

"What happened to you kid?! You're bleeding like crazy! And this wound wasn't treated for at least 20 minutes!" He scolded. Huh, sounds like something Chie would do. Oh crap, I forgot about Chie!

"Hey, mister, can you treat this as fast as you can? I have someone I need to check on!" I begged. He nodded and proceeded to wrap my shoulder in bandages.

"Oh, yes, my name is Yuki... " I murmured to him. Just then, someone called out to Gon.

"Killua!" Gon and Kurapika turned around.

_Killua? I feel like I met someone with that name before..._

"I can't believe you actually got here. I thought you were done for."

That voice. I know it. I looked at the person approaching and felt a shudder down my spine.

"I just tracked Leoiro's cologne!"

"Cologne? That was how? You definitely are weird..."

Killua looked at Leoiro and me, and for a moment, he looked concerned. But then he cracked a grin.

"You made it here too! Didn't expect to see you again!" He commented. Gon looked at the both of us.

"You two already know each other?" He said, his eyes wide with curiosity. I nodded. "I met him when we were all waiting for the exam to begin."

Killua looked at my injury. "How did _that_ happen?" Me, Kurapika, and Gon all exchanged glances.

"I got attacked by... an animal..." I lied. Killua obviously didn't buy it, but he didn't say anything after as Leorio finished bandaging me. When he finished, I stood up stretching my arm. It stung a lot, but the pain wasn't bad enough to stop me in battle.

"It was nice meeting you guys. Thanks for helping me, Gon, Leorio, Kurapika! But now I have someone I have to check on, so maybe we'll see each other later. Good luck to the lot of you!" I put my shitagi back on and tucked it into my black hakama shorts. I then looked at Killua, forcing a smile.

"And hello again, Killua."

I walked past them and into the crowd, looking for Chie. Soon enough I found her, and she told me how she was able to climb back up and continue the path. When she saw the blood stain though, I could swear the lecture I got was even longer than a lecture on scientific computation.


	3. Getting to Know You

"Excellent work, everyone. Phase Two of the exam will occur here, in the Biska Forest Park. So, I shall take my leave. Best of luck to all of you."

Satotz finished his little speech and began to do his inhuman running down the path. The big gate in front of us opened, revealing a large mansion. I squinted and saw a large man sitting in front of the front door with a lady wearing rather skimpy clothing sitting on a couch in front of him.

"Will all applicants who passed the First Phase please enter? Welcome. I'm Menchi, the Second Phase examiner."

"And I'm the other examiner, Buhara."

There was a moment of silence, then a loud rumbling noise. My eyes widened and Chie raised an eyebrow. What on earth was THAT?! Menchi and Buhara exchanged quick words and then she stood up.

"There you have it. Phase Two will involve... "

Tense moment of waiting.

"... cooking!"

Everyone went angry and complained. I felt my stomach tighten and I pursed my lips. I absolutely _SUCKED _at cooking. Anything easy to cook, I managed to screw it up somehow. Noodles, fried rice, boiling eggs, you name it. But Chie was an excellent cook, so maybe she could help me.

Well, after the Examiners introduced themselves as Gourmet Hunters, everyone laughed. I admit, I was a little let down, but maybe they're able to fight with butcher knives or something. So, they informed us that our mission was to cook a pig. Sent out to the forest afterwards, I sighed. How was I going to be able to cook an entire pig...?

-TIMESKIP NO. 3-

"Chie, their weakness is their forehead!" I hollered to her, leaping into the air and pulling out my katana. I charged full speed down and without pulling out my blade, I made one strong hit and bam! Got him!

Chie kicked hers and the two of us began to make our way back. When we reached the exam site, me and Chie began to cook our foods.

~Later~

So in the end, no one passed except Chie. She made a pretty damn good pork stew in my opinion. Unlike me, I messed up my stew. But, Chie refused to go on without me, so she failed as well. So then the Chairman had to step in. Afterwards, we were all retested and boiled the best damn eggs ever. And I didn't screw them up! Hallelujah!

Then, we boarded the Chairman's airship.

"Allow me to introduce myself to the forty-two remaining applicants. I am Netero, Chairman of this year's Hunter Exam Selection Committee."

"I am his secretary, Beans." The green thing in a suit next to him said.

"Originally, I'd planned to make my appearance during the exam's final phase, but as I'm already here... I'm loving the tension in this air! So I think I'll stick around for the rest of the trip!"

"We're scheduled to reach our destination tomorrow morning, at 8 AM. You'll find dinner waiting in the dining hall. You are also welcome to get some rest. In other words, you're free to do as you please until you are contacted." Beans finished, and now we were free to go. I was thinking about getting some rest for tomorrow, and Chie left to the dining hall. What should I do...?

"Hey, Yuki, you're coming with US!"

I was suddenly grabbed by the wrists and dragged put of the crowd. When I looked up, I saw that it was Killua and Gon, both holding my arms.

"What are you two doing?!" I exclaimed, trying to wriggle free.

"We're KIDNAPPING you, of course!" Killua replied like I was some idiot. Gon nodded his head in agreement. I sighed and the two of them let go of my wrists. I fell straight on my back and stood up, rubbing it. Idiots, the lot of the two. "Just think of it like a 'Getting to know you' party." Killua said, sighing and putting his hands behind his head.

"Heey~, I'm hungry. Let's raid the kitchen!" He said mischievously. Gon and I looked at each other, then he grinned, grabbing my hand and pulling me along.

"C'mon!"

-TIMESKIP NO.4-

"Hey there! Kids! Stay out of the kitchen! Go eat in the dining hall!" The chef scolded and kicked us out. We walked around for a while, and I finished my apple. I threw it in the garbage when Killua suddenly ran to the window.

"Wow, awesome! Look, Gon! Yuki!"

"Hmm, what is it?" Gon asked excitedly, running to the window as well. I followed and smiled at the pretty sight. "Whoa, it's like the ground is covered in jewels!" Gon said in amazement. I nodded in agreement. "Hey, I was wondering. Where are your mom and dad?" He asked Killua.

"Hmm. They're alive. Probably."

"What do they do?" Me and Gon asked in unison.

"They're assassins."

I already knew the answer. My body tensed when he said assassin, and I instinctivey went on guard.

"Huh? Both of them?" Gon asked innocently.

Killua looked at Gon and laughed. "That's your first reaction? You really are a riot!"

Of course, I already knew the answer. I felt myself get cold and stiff, my hands red and shaking from gripping the window sill too hard.

"Huh?"

Then Killua and Gon sat down, talking for a bit. I just stood at the window, contemplating whether to ditch the two or to stay. I could feel an uncomfortable awkwardness in my system right now.

"So there. I'm an EX-assassin."

I looked at Killua and noticed that that particular statement was meant for me. And even though it seemed to good to be true, somewhere inside me knew that his declaration was real. But still...

"What about you, Yuki? Where are you from?" Killua asked.

"Hananoshima. The Country of Flowers." I replied, closing my eyes. I remembered my homeland and smiled. All those beautiful flowers and peaceful rivers. Then all the kind citizens and my tea-

'When that Zoldyck finishes you off, this country will be mine to rule!'

My eyes shot open and I fell backwards from surprise. My heart beat so fast I could swear it was about to burst. I went a serious cold sweat and my eyes widened in fear.

"Y-Yuki?! Are you okay?!" Gon exclaimed, sitting down next to me. I let out a long breath of air and stood up.

"U-Unh... I'll be fine. I just... just got chilled about something for a moment." I replied, sitting down on the bench, covering my face in my hands. Killua looked at me in concern but he didn't do anything next.

"Anyways, so then... what about your parents?" Gon asked me.

"I don't know. They died before I even turned three, so I don't know them." I replied. I leaned onto the window sill, looking at the moon. "So then my uncle took me in. He's a martial artist, so he made us, me and my cousin Chie I mean, go through some pretty intense training. He decided that the Hunter Exam is like the Ultimate Training Ground, so he made us participate."

"That's cool. What did he teach you?" He pressed on.

"Shinkendo. Chie learned something else, but he mainly taught me Shinkendo." I answered. Gon looked at me in awe.

Then Killua made an aha face.

"Oh! If you're from Hananoshima, does that mean that you heard about whats going on there?"

"Wait, what? What's going on, Killua?" Gon looked at him in interest.

"Hananoshima's crown Prince Shion has been missing for five years now. Plus the fact that the Kinging Ceremony is in two more years. They're getting really desperate. I mean, the King's brother Prince Renji is temporarily ruling the country, but if Shion doesn't show up on time he really will become the king."

"THAT MAN IS NOT GETTING THE THRONE! I WILL MAKE SURE OF THAT!"

Gon and Killua both looked at me weirdly.

"O-Oh... sorry... was I too loud?"

"No, not at all."

That was when I felt that incredible presence. Me, Gon, and Killua looked at the direction it had come from. I went on guard and began to make my way towards the hall when I saw him in the corner of my eye.

"Chairman Netero?"

-TIMESKIP NO. 5-

Gon and Killua decided to play Netero's game of "Catch the Ball", but I decided to just stand back and watch. They were obviously having trouble, and Netero still hadn't used his right arm. Man...

Killua obviously got angry, and then explained to Gon that they would never get the ball from him. He left but then turned back, giving me a cold and hard stare.

"You... Yuki. You're coming with me."


	4. Towers Be Trippin' Me

"You... Yuki. You're coming with me."

Wait, what?

I followed him hesitantly and said bye to Gon. I made sure to stand behind him at a safe distance, unsure of his motives. We walked in silence, passing by two grown men. They appeared to have a problem with Killua. When they charged to attack him, he killed them like they were faster than my own eyes could see. He continued leading me to who knows where when he stopped in front of a door. He looked inside and motioned for me to go in. I stepped inside and raised an eyebrow.

"Um. Why a janitor's closet?"

"Because. It'll give us privacy."

"..."

"Your secrets. Spill them all. Now."

"Secrets? I have no secrets."

Oh shit. He was onto me. How am I going to get out of this one...? I'm a bad liar, and I can't exactly just spill the beans to him, knowing that he's a Zoldyck! I leaned against the wall and scoffed. "What makes you think I'm keeping secrets?"

"One, your actions. Two, your words. Why would a citizen of Hananoshima hate the King's brother as much as you? I mean, most clearly like him. In fact, I've seen him myself. He seemed like a pretty nice guy."

"One, he's a demon. And two, you were an assassin before. That means he hired you to kill someone, didn't he?" My eyes narrowed and my smile immediately disappeared.

Killua, sensing my anger, stopped pressing the matter. "Who are you, Yuki?"

"The day will come when you find out. For now, I am Yuki."

I left the closet, leaving him puzzled over what I just said. Well, I guess I could stay close to him... To find out if he's going to keep his word.

Ex-assassin... We'll see about that.

-TIMESKIP NO. 6(Lol)-

I looked around at the open space the aircraft landed on. Raising an eyebrow, I looked at Chie and she shrugged. Netero's secretary explained that the tower we were on was called Trick Tower and that we had to reach the base of it under 72 hours. After he left, me and Chie immediately began to look for trap doors. We stomped on the tiles and walked over each one. Chie found a trap door, but I couldn't go through it. So hey, we were seperated ONCE again!

I began to look for another one in hopes that it would lead to Chies'. That was when I heard a familiar voice calling my name. I looked around and saw Gon waving to me.

"Hey, Yuuuuki! We found a fifth trap door, come take it!" He hollered. I saw Killua, Kurapika, and Leoiro standing next to their tiles and I shrugged. At least Gon found one I could take, and maybe one of us would land in the same room. I began to make my way there when-

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

I fell through a trap door ahead of me and disappeared into a dark abyss. I landed on feet lightly and found myself in a dull brick room lit by torches on the wall.

"My, my, a child? Well, you're quite unlucky, because the path you got is a rough one! Well, you better hope you can get through it, because what's in store for you is going to be difficult! Anyways, I'm Lippo, the head of Trick Tower and the Prison Warden! This test will be a test of mentality, endurance, and strength, so good luck, you're gonna need it!"

The voice on the intercom left and I was here alone. With a look of determination, I walked to the door and opened it, stepping through to the other side.

"Ha ha... Sorry, Gon."

~LATER~

So far I had been sliding down poles, crawling through tight spaces, jumping from platform to platform, and answering difficult riddles, and also other things as well. And now... I was trying to dodge swinging axes. Yeah, imagine how it would feel it one sliced you in half. There were three of them, swinging like a pendulum. Oh God. I ditched my cloak, deciding that it would just be a nuisance, and tried to find a good time to run through. My mind-reading was basically useless here.

Timing it with caution, I managed to slip through the first one. Then rolling past the second one. Then running past the the third one. I fist pumped the air in victory and continued through the hallway I was in now. It was completely dark and the dusty air was tickling my nose. I wanted to sneeze, but I was afraid that the noise would wake up some beast in here. When it got too pressured, I leaned my head back, and-

"A-A-Achoo!"

...silence...

I looked around cautiously and sighed with relief when I found there was nothing around me. But as I went further inside the tunnel, I began to step on wet, squishy things. Occasionally I stepped something hard and felt like bones, but I tried not to focus too much on that. Finally, there was a light towards the end, and I stepped into a big room.

"Congratulations kid, you got past the flesh-eating monster! He was probably sleeping, though."

Wait, the weird squishy crap I stepped on was a monster?! Damn...

"Well now you managed to get past all the obstacles, here is your test of strength! You will be battling a fellow hunter, and if you meet her standards, she'll let you pass to the other side."

A battle? He never really specified what would happen if I killed her, so I guess she must be really strong. Suddenly, I saw someone above me. The figure was too fast and jumped to the ground before I could even get a good look.

"Hello, I'm Kyung Yukimura. I'm not an examiner, but I will be determining if you have enough strength and brains to be a hunter." Said a masculine-feminine voice.

I looked at the woman and determined that she was at least somewhere in her early twenties. She had short, messy black hair and bright-teal eyes. Her attire consisted of a black jacket, red-and-white striped zipper tank top, black cargo shorts, and red converse. Her arms also had various scars and bruises.

"A kid? Well, you got this far. You better impress me."

With that, she disappeared. I looked around, calming myself.

"Behind you."

My eyes shot open. How the hell did she-

WHAM!

I was knocked against the wall so hard, I stopped breathing for a moment. The pain was incredible, and I felt like my entire body was broken from that one kick. I struggled to get up, I looked at the woman Kyung. She seemed so expressionless! I pulled out my katana and got into a stance. Looking into her eyes, my thought script was summoned.

'_This kid is pretty okay. That one kick would've shattered the bones of a normal grown-man. But, I'm not going easy just cause he's young. Is that a katana? So he's a sword fighter..._'

I charged at her and acted as if I was gonna slash her, but as soon she was gonna do a counter-kick, I flipped backwards and elbowed her back with as much strength as I could. Then, I jumped back several feet and rubbed my stinging elbow. Man, what was her back made of, steel?!

She stretched, patting where I elbowed her. She smiled at me and did a thumbs up.

"Good move kid. That actually hurt a little." She praised, and ran at me.

'_I guess I could fake a punch and do an uppercut. But I should try to be careful of his sword, it looks deadly._'

She disappeared again and appeared in front of me, her fist about to make contact with my face when I grabbed her other hand and twisted her around, having her in a choke hold. With my katana to her neck, I made a dangerous glare. She grinned and bent forward with a force, flipping me onto the ground. I must have loosened my grip on my katana because soon she had it in reverse and I was on the ground and she had the katana at my neck, drawing some blood.

"You're not bad, honestly. But with the way you are now, you'll never beat me. Anyways, congratulations! You pass. Good job." She helped me up and gave me back my katana.

I began to make my way to the exit, but then I turned back to see she was following me.

"Oh, are you coming with me?" I asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. If I stay here, Lippo will most likely leave me here for his entertainment."

"Oh, okay." The door slid up, and we passed through.

"**Yuki, applicant #96, is 17th to pass."**

I sighed and observed my body. There were at least a million scratches, some bruises here and there, and most likely one gigantic bruise on my back from Kyung's kick.

"Man, these are this years applicants? Wow." Kyung whistled and looked around.

I noticed everybody was staring at her with a weird look. Some were thinking that it was strange for a hunter to actually be here.

"Oh, Kyu-chan ~? "

Kyung looked towards the voice and her smiling voice turned into an irritated scowl. She stretched and sighed looking at me with a small grin.

"Yep, that's right, I know that guy. I guess you could say we were childhood friends... " She said. With that, she made her way to Hisoka, and the two began to socialize. I wonder how they met in the first place...


	5. Small talk and a Surprise Reaction

So, long story short, only 26 people actually passed trick tower. When Gon and Killua made it out, they told me about what Gon had did. Yep, Gon really is amazing. So we were brought outside and waiting for the Lippo guy to speak, the Kyung person standing next to him with a hand on her hips.

"Ladies and gentlemen, congratulations on having escaped trick tower. Only the fourth phase and the final phase remain." Lippo began.

"Only two more..." Said the ninja Hanzo.

Lippo pointed a thumb behind him to an... island?

"The fourth phase will take place over there, on Zevil Island. Let us proceed." He continued, then snapped his fingers. A man came foward, rolling some cart with a box on it. "I will need you to draw lots."

Everyone around made confused faces and looks of disbelief.

"Lots?"

"For what?"

"To determine who will hunt and who will be hunted. In here are twenty-six number cards. In other words, your ID numbers are on the cards. Now, I need you each to draw a card, by order of which you got exited the tower. Will the first person come forward?"

Hisoka walked forward, and I somehow knew that he would obviously be first. He got his card and smiled, walking away.

-TIME SKIP NO. 7-

So here we were, on a boat. Waiting to reach Zevil Island. Man, this was such a tense aura. Everyone had already taken off their badges. I looked at the lady speaking and read her mind.

'_This is so depressing!_'

I couldn't blame her, it really was so depressing. I jumped onto the side of the boat and sat over the edge, looking into the water.

"Hey, Yuki!"

I looked back and saw Killua making his way to me. When he finally stood next to me, we just stayed next to each other for the moment.

"Hey, Killu-"

"You know, I heard that there were some jumping clams around here from that guide." Killua remarked.

I raised an eyebrow and looked into the water. "Jumping clams? That sounded really weird, like what do they do? Do they just use their tongue an- AW SHIT!"

Something the size of a child's hand just leaped out of the water and rammed right into my forehead. I fell back and rubbed the aching spot, it was like something wet and rock-hard!

"A-Ah, Yuki?!" Chie came running over with a concerned look, and Killua was laughing so hard, I swear he was going to suffocate.

"Man, what the actual _fuc-_ " I saw the culprit. It was a single grey clam. "Huh, jumping clams, eh? I guess I got first-hand experience. Now I can tell people what _wonderful_ creatures they are." I grabbed the clam and threw it at Killua, whom was still choking in laughter. He caught it with ease and wiped tears away from his eyes.

"Man, that was _hilarious_. Maybe it saw you a threat or something."

I rolled my eyes and he threw it back into the water.

~LATER~

"Thanks for your patience, everyone. We've finally arrived at Zevil Island! Now, please embark in order by which you cleared the third phase! After each person disembarks, we'll wait two-minutes before the next person's turn."

"You will stay on this island for exactly one week. During that time, you must amass your six points of ID tags and return here. All right then, the first person may start!"

When it finally got to me, I walked forward into the island. I scanned my surroundings and decided to find a place to stay for a moment so I could figure who applicant #109 was.

~LATER, LATER~

I sighed and bit into the apple I picked a while back. Right now, I was lying on the tree branch of a super tall tree. I looked into the clear blue sky and thought about who #109 could be. Chie didn't know, and neither did Killua or Gon.

"Man, what a drag... now it looks like I'm gonna have to beat up every exam-taker I see."

~TEH NEXT DAY~

_Chirp. Chirp chirp. Chirp._

As I slept inside the hole under some tree's trunk, my eyebrows twitched and I itched in irritation.

_Chirp chirp chirp. Chirp. Chir_-

"MY GOD, I'M UP NOW, ARE YOU HAPPY?!" I hollered at a bird that kept chirping next to me and pecking my cheeks. I crawled out of the hole and looked around. Well, it's been one day now, and no sign of anyone.

"This is like playing a game of messed-up hide-and-seek... " I grumbled to myself and walked down a random path. As I entered the forest, I wandered around and stopped to examine where I was. As I was about to continue walking again, I felt someone's presence. I stopped and hid behind a tree, concealing mine. As the footsteps got closer and closer, I pulled out my katana and jumped out, getting into a stance, when-

"Killua?"

I cocked my head and he raised an eyebrow. With a sigh, I put my katana away. I walked to him and looked over his shoulder.

"It's nice to run into you, Yuki."

"Yeah. Hey, someone's tailing you, you know. Why don't you just get him?"

"Nah, I wanna let him have his glory, and then get him."

"That's messed up."

We laughed a bit, then I sighed. Well, this was nice. I wasn't feeling so nervous around Killua anymore. Maybe it's because of that talk in the janitor's closet earlier.

-KILLUA POV-

Me and Yuki were having a rather normal small-talk. The guy tailing me seemed to have stopped, afraid of attacking since Yuki was here. In fact, Yuki seemed to have calmed down around me. He stopped being so edgy. He looked into my face, but then he froze. Sweat dropped down his chin, and he kinda just stared into open air.

He reached forward... and then pulled me into a **tight hug**.

...

"What the hell are you doing?! Stop!" I shouted, trying to pry him off.

"No!" God, he was being such a kid. What the heck was he panicking about?!

"What are you so scared of, don't just suddenly- !"

"It's a bee, God damn it, a bee! Those things are scary as FUCK!"

"You're scared of a BEE?! Grow up! You're a guy!"

He still wouldn't let go of me and his arms wrapped around me even tighter. "One of those things stung me when I was a kid, and it hurt like hell!" He looked up at me and I felt a blush creep onto my face. His embarrassed face was so... cute.

-YUKI POV-

When the buzzing went away, I let go of Killua and wiped the tears away with a sigh of relief. I looked at him and grinned. "Well, now that's over, it was nice seeing you, Killua!"

Killua had a look of 'What the shit just happened' plastered all over his face. He was blushing, too. "W-Wait just a minute, one second ago, you were acting like a five-year-old over some BUG, and now you're all tough and a 'everythings a-okay' guy now?! What the heck was that?!" He asked, trying not to shout.

"Oh, I've had a fear of bees ever since I was little. I got stung once while hanging out in a field of flowers, so yeah... you can imagine how I got like this."

Killua gave me a blank stare, and he sighed. "You should probably get away from me. That was a lot of screaming there, and I don't want to attract anymore people."

"Suure~ "

With that, I turned to where I came from and started down a new pathway. When I got far away from him, I blushed in embarrassment and covered my face with my hands. God that was humiliating...!

-Bonus! IMORI'S POV-

What the heck... did I just witness?


	6. Identity Revealed!

**I feel like Yuki's a bit too strong. And I also feel like I'm struggling with his character all together. If anyone has advice on how I could improve him, please review! And btw, this chapter is a short one, so it basically implies a lot about Yuki and Killua's relationship.**

I was still pretty embarrassed about what happened back there. I was freaking out over a bee and HUGGED the life out of Killua. I hope things don't get awkward between us. I mean, it's bad that he knows that I'm hiding something, but now that he knows that I'm afraid of some bug he might think a little differently.

As I wandered around again, I felt yet _another_ presence. I went on guard again and pulled out my katana.

"By any chance... are _you_ no.96?"

I looked around and picked up a stone. Then, I flicked it to a bush on my right. Suddenly, a figure stepped out of the bushes with his hands up like a criminal who got caught. I backed away a few feet and gave him a cold and hard stare.

"Yes, I'm no.96. Are you no.109?"

The man was at least 6", muscular, and had rather toned skin. He was bald, and wore clothes that of a monk.

"Yes, I am no. 109. But please, call me Lin. I am a human, not a number." Huh, smart.

"So, basically it's I've got to get your badge, or get mine taken."

"You could say that, yes."

I swung my katana for a bit just to warm up my arms and went into a battle stance.

"Well... I'm passing the Hunters Exam!"

With that, I charged foward and did what I did to Kyung. I faked a slash and stared into his eyes.

'_Ha, such a childish move. I'll just dodge and get behind him!'_

The moment he wasn't in front of me anymore, I spun around and swung sword. But, seeing that he was skilled, he only got a small graze on his chest. He then gave me a look of approval.

"Ha, you are not as childish as you look." He remarked, and pulled out a long staff, spinning it around. But the stance he got into was quite familiar.

"Shaolin stick fighting?" I asked, pointing my katana at him. He nodded and ran forward. When he brought it up so that it would hit my chin, I jumped back and barely dodged it. This guy was going to be trouble...

I ran into the trees and hid, trying to get his guard down.

"Are you running away? Come back, child, I only wish to get your badge."

I stared at his eyes and read his every thoughts. But, I knew that I needed to find an opening. With that, I concealed my entire presence, and the thought script went away with a poof. I circled him, being as silent as I could. When I got behind him, I waited, waited until his guard lowered even just a little. When I saw his shoulders lower just a small bit, I darted forward, flipped my katana so I held it's tsuka facing where the blade should face, and rammed it right onto his neck's pressure point. Lin spun around, but by then, it was too late. He still managed to get a blow onto my face, but he passed out. I rubbed the red area and grumbled. Maybe I should've tried to get closer before attacking...

But, I reached into his robes and felt his badge. Yep, he was no. 109 alright. I grinned and ran off to find a place to hang out for the rest of the week and hide from potential dangers.

-TWO DAYS LATER-

Whistling a merry tune, I strolled down the path I was on and looked at my surroundings. What should I do today...? As I walked, I could see someone ahead of me. I squinted and grinned.

"Killua!"

He looked up at me and smiled as well. "Yo!"

We caught up with each other and talked for a bit. "So, I'm assuming you got that guys badge?"

"Yeah. It was a bit of a drag, but I got it."

I wonder what he did to get it. "Hey, you want to stick together? At least until this phase ends?"

He widened his eyes and smiled. "Sure."

So, we walked together to find a place to stay. We mainly hunted for easy food sources and avoided being near the rest of the exam takers. And as we hung out together, I got to learn more about Killua. He loooves chocolate, hates red peppers, and likes drinking tea. He also likes to explore cockpits. He and I got along just fine, and he didn't press me for answers on my "secret" anymore. In fact... I didn't want to admit this, but he... He was starting to seem more like a fun-loving, normal twelve year old despite his real identity.

I even forgot that we were taking the Hunters Exam. As night came, we found a small cave. As a bonus, the top of the cave had a hole, so we could see the night sky through it. Killua made a fire and he had to smoke the fish, since I would probably burn it.

When we finished eating, we lied next to each other and stared up at the stars, trying to will ourselves to sleep. But I guess we were still too energetic.

"Killua... What goes through your head when you kill?" I turned to him and he pursed his lips, trying to come up with an answer.

"Nothing... I guess. I just kill, and that's that."

"Oh... So then... "

"Hey, Yuki... What are your real feelings towards me?" He turned to his side and looked at me. I had to think about it of course. "It's... really complex. I mean, I know you said that you aren't an assassin anymore, but you still killed. And that makes me want to hate you for it. But at the same time you're just like a normal twelve year old... And lately I've been able to relate with you. Plus the fact you remind me of someone I knew..."

"Someone you knew...?" He looked a little hurt by my words, but he didn't say anything about it.

"Yeah... There was someone I used to know... " I didn't say anything more and smiled. "When I become a Hunter... I want to travel the world."

Killua smiled as well and yawned.

"Is my goal really that boring?" I teased. He didn't answer and closed his eyes.

"Good night... "

~TWO MORE DAYS LATER~

I... I really feel like Killua isn't a Zoldyck.

The days that we've spent together really makes me feel like he's not a cold-blooded killer. In fact, it's much more different. He's like Gon, in a way. He's childish, likes to have fun, and mischievous. I'm not scared of him anymore.

As we walked down the dirt path together, heading to the check point, I remembered the three nights we watched the stars together. I felt like we were getting closer. I shook my head and stopped thinking about him. Instead, I just chatted about what the Final Exam might be. We both had different ideas, but all in all we both agreed it'd be the hardest.

And as we neared the check point, Killua leaned towards my ear and whispered.

"I found out who you really are... Shion Kouta."


	7. The Final Phase

"Don't worry... I won't tell anyone you're really Prince Shion Kouta of Hananoshima."

My eyes widened and I looked at Killua with surprised eyes. How did he find out in just three days?! Did I slip it out somehow, or had he known all along?! I calmed down and looked into his eyes.

'_It was easy to figure out, really. Your behavior, your speech, and you as well. _'

His thoughts had ended there, but I needed to know. I needed to find some time to talk to him. And what did he mean by 'me' as well? I turned to say something to him, but we had already got to checkpoint.

"Tch..."

I looked back at Killua and decided to let it go for now, at least until we got some time alone.

"Then we will now check the tags of everyone here! #44, Hisoka-san. #53, Pokkle-san. #99, Killua-san. #96, Yuki-san. #301, Gittarackur-san. #191, Bodoro-san. #294, Hanzo-san. #95, Chie-san. So eight applicants have passed?"

I looked at Chie and noticed she was pretty beat up, but she had her tags. Then, on their way here, was Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika.

"Oh?" The guide looked surprised and smiled.

"Gon!" Killua grinned as well.

"Good job!" I called out with an air five.

Gon looked at us and smiled as well. He and Killua gave each other a thumbs up.

"And now for the last few members... #404, Kurapika-san. #403, Leoiro-san. #405, Gon-san. These nine applicants have passed the Fourth Phase of the exam!" With that, she pointed to the sky where the airship was.

~LATER~

I looked out the window of the airship and grinned. This was it... I'm making it to the Final Phase... I'm going to become a Hunter with Gon and Killua! As I continued being all smiley and whatnot, Chie sat next to me, also equally as happy. I decided not to tell her that Killua found out about my secret, just in case she would freak and threaten him or something.

"I have an announcement for all applicants. The chairman wishes to interview the remaining candidates. When your number is called, please come to the first reception room, on the second floor. Then, we will start with #44, Hisoka-sama."

When it got to be my turn, I walked in and sat down. He asked me who I was watching out for, and who I least wanted to fight.

"I'm looking out for #95 in a good way. If you mean a bad way, #44. I would least want to fight #99 and #405's group."

Afterwards, I left and sighed in relief. I thought that he was gonna ask me like a million questions. As I walked down the hall, I passed by Killua on his way there. I gave him a thumbs up and he returned it.

-TIMESKIP-

"Well, gentlemen. Did you get plenty of rest? This hotel is owned by the Hunter Exam Selection Committee. This place is all yours until the battles have concluded. For the final phase, we will be holding a one-on-one tournament."

He revealed a large chart with the battles we were to have.

"One win is all you need. The winners are removed from competition, while the losers continue up the bracket. In other words, the loser at the top will not pass. Does everyone understand now?" Netero looked at us all.

"So you're saying that only one person will fail." Hanzo stated.

"Exactly. And here is the bracket."

We all looked at the chart and I gulped. Should Killua lose enough battles, he would have to go against...

..._me_.

Killua seemed to have noticed as well, but he didn't say anything. Nothing at all... I began to wonder if I was capable of beating him. I couldn't let this chance go. I mean, not that I had any particular goal as a Hunter, but having a Hunter's License would be useful... I shook my head and watched Gon and Hanzo walk onto the battleground.

"Good luck, Gon."

~LATER~

So, instead Hanzo gave in and Gon was sent to the infirmary. Kurapika went against Hisoka, but Hisoka gave up right after telling something to Kurapika. Then Pokkle lost against Killua. Then Bodoro lost against Hisoka. Then Killua gave up against Pokkle. Then... he went against me. We fought for a good while, thanks to my mind reading, I could predict most of his moves. The examiners appeared surprised when I activated the thought script, but said nothing. As we fought, he suddenly stopped and gave up.

"Sorry... but I'm not as excited to fight you as you think I am."

Those words hurt a little, but somewhere... I was so relieved, I couldn't be any happier that he gave up. I hated that feeling. I really did. But at least we fought.

That was when his match against Gittarackur started.

"It's been too long, Kil."

Gittarackur began taking the thumb needles out of his face, and his hair turned long and black. His face morphed into that of a young mans'. When I stared into his eyes, they were so... empty and dark. I felt a chill go down my spine. If _he_ was the Zoldyck after me, then... I would be killed on the spot.

Killua looked scared as well. He was shaking and his eyes were wide with confusion. He thoughts were all mixed up and I couldn't read them all. The man in front of him appeared to be his older brother, his name was Illumi.

"Hey. I heard that you cut up Mom and Milluki."

"I guess."

"Mom was crying. Tears of joy."

For Gods sake, it's like the entire Zoldyck Family is messed up.

"She was so happy to see that you'd grown up. But, she was worried about you leaving home, so she asked me to check up on you. What a coincidence. I didn't know that you wanted to be a Hunter. I'm trying to get a license for my next job."

"I don't really want to be a Hunter. I just felt like taking the exam."

"I see... "

"That's a relief. Then I have some advice for you. You're not cut out to be a Hunter . You were born to be a killer. "

Anger filled every part of my body. How dare he say that?!

"LEAVE KILLUA ALONE! Let him be what he wants to be!" I shouted angrily, stepping forward.

Illumi and Killua glanced at me, but they continued on.

"You're a puppet of darkness, without passion. You don't want anything or wish for anything. As one who lives in the shadows, you can only have pleasure when people die. That's how Dad and I raised you. What would you accomplish by becoming a hunter?"

"True, I don't desire to become a Hunter. But, I do have something I want... "

"You don't.

"I do! There's something I really want!" He insisted, his eyes desperate and determined.

"Hmm? Tell me what it is that you want."

Killua hesitated and looked down. For a just a split second, I could swear his eyes were on me, but they averted just when I noticed. He stayed silent.

"What's wrong? There's nothing you really want, is there?"

"That's not it!" The two stayed silent for a moment, but then Killua raised his head up a little. "I want to beome friends with Gon and Yuki..."

I looked at him in surprise. Friends... with me and Gon? So many thoughts and feelings came in and out, and I tried to understand but couldn't.

"I'm sick of killing people... I want to become friends with them both, and to live a normal life.."

I was about to call Killua an idiot for thinking that he needed my permission to become my friend, and that we already established that we could be friends, but then Illumi spoke.

"That's impossible. You'll never be able to make friends. Your only concern when you meet someone is whether you should kill them. That's how you were trained. You just don't know how to classify Gon because he's too dazzling for your eyes. And Yuki? Probably the same reason. You don't actually want to become friends with them."

"You're wrong..."

"If you stay with them, you'll end up wanting to kill them one day. You're get the urge to see if you can kill them or not. Because you have the soul of a killer."

I hated this. Hated him. Again, I was about to step forward, but then Leorio stepped in and started yelling at Killua.

"Killua! I don't give a damn if he's your brother. He's a worthless piece of crap! Don't listen to him! Just beat the crap out of him like usual and win! You want to become friends with the two? Are you daft? You guys are already all friends! Not sure about this Yuki, but I'm sure that that's how Gon feels!"

"He's right, Killua! We ARE friends! I normally don't just trust anyone, but I began to like you and Gon! And remember Zevil Island?! We spent nearly a WEEK together! If you really wanted me dead, then you would have killed me already!" I shouted, tears forming. "Come one, Killua! Just stand up to your brother!" Killua turned to me and raised his hand, as if trying to reach out to me. "Y-Yuki..."

Illumi turned to us. "Really?"

"Hell yeah, idiot!" Leorio shouted.

"Really... that's no good. He and you consider Kil a friend. Okay, I'll kill Yuki here, then Gon next."

My eyes widened with fear and surprise. KILL me?! No fucking way that was happening. I pulled out my katana and got into a stance. But... everything felt all wrong. My legs and arms were trembling, and I was in a serious cold sweat. If I die here, then I'll never save my country. Chie ran to my side and put her arm over me protectively.

"I will not allow you to touch Yuki!" She growled. I looked up at her and tried to look brave. "N-No Chie, if he wants to fight, this is my battle." She looked back at me like I were crazy, but moved slightly.

"A killer doesn't need any friends. They'll only slow you down. Now... get out of my way." He began to make his way to me, but then he stopped. "Ah, but if I kill you in front of Kil, he might get angry enough to fight me. Then I'll get Gon first then you." He changed his direction and walked towards the doors.

"Where is he?" He asked. A guard tried to stop him, but Illumi easily threw his needles. The man writhed on the ground in pain, but he gave in.

"The waiting room over there...!"

I ran to the door with Kurapika, Hanzo, and Leoiro. I knew that I would never win against him, but he was NOT gonna get Gon!

~LATER, LATER~

So here we. Me, Gon, Kurapika, and Leoiro. We were currently searching up where Kukuroo Mountain was, planning to save Killua from his own family, after he killed Bodoro. Chie decided to go back to Japan and learn more from our master Yuu. And I... I planned to set things straight with Killua. Knowing that these guys meant no harm, I also planned to tell the truth. The truth about me... plus, being called Yuki is really annoying now.

"The Republic of Padokea? Never heard of it. Where is it?"

Kurapika brought out a page with a map on it and showed us the locations.

"It should be fine. It appears to be a stable country. It allows ordinary tourists. "

"That's where we'll find Killua?" Gon asked.

"By airship, it will take three days to reach... When do we leave?"

Me and Gon looked at each other and grinned.

"Today! Right now!" We both stated simoultaneously.

"Yeah, no objection from me!" Leorio added. Kurapika smiled and began to order the tickets.

~LATER, LATER, LATER(Yeah, lots of timeskips dude)~

"Holy crap, I feel like we're gonna fall if we run on this, but whatever!" I hollered and ran with as much excitement as Gon.

"Hey Gon! Do you realize how far away the airport is?" Leorio shouted.

"I want to save Killua as fast as I can!"

And off we ran into the horizon. Just kidding. But we did reach the airport in time.


	8. The Truth is Told

**This chapter basically explains everything about Shion(alias was Yuki), so it's up to you to read it or not!**

As we were on the airship, I finally got the courage to reveal my secret. After Leorio and Kurapika got food, we got to get a little closer. That was when I said it.

"You guys, what I am about to say must be kept silent until further ado." I said, my eyes serious and cold. The three of them exchanged looks and they nodded. With a sigh, I mustered up enough voice to say what I needed.

"I see you guys as friends now. So... since I am not one to keep serious secrets from my friends, I will tell you now. I have been lying about myself this entire time."

"What... What do you mean?" Kurapika asked, confused.

"It's true, me and Chie only took the exam because our master Yuu thought it would be good for training, but Chie is not really my cousin. And Master Yuu is not really my uncle. I am... I'm the crown prince... of Hananoshima."

The three of them made a look of shock. Gon looked at me with a serious expression.

"Continue." He said.

"My name is Shion Kouta, as you may know. So please, don't call me Yuki anymore. I can't go back to my country, not until the Kinging Ceremony. If I do... then my uncle may just hire another assassin to finish the job that was ruined."

"Why? What happened before?" Kurapika questioned. I smiled grimly and leaned back in my seat. "My _dear _uncle tried to kill me. He hired a Zoldyck."

"Oh, so that's why you refused to be near Killua at first..." Gon said with an aha tone. "Am I really that easy to read...?" I pouted.

"But then, how did you find out?" Kurapika pressed. I pursed my lips. "You see, that's where the second secret starts..."

"Continue..." They each said. I grinned sheepishly.

"I can mind-read."

"Really?! Read my mind, Yuki! I mean, Shion!" Gon gushed. I stared into his dazzled brown eyes and smiled. "You're thinking that it'd be so awesome if you could mind-read too. Plus a bonus thought, you're wondering why these seats are so soft, and if you were going to be able to sink into the chair or something."

He clapped, amazed. "He's right!"

Kurapika, a little skeptical, turned to me. "Really? Try reading mine."

"You're thinking that Leorio is an idiot."

"Kurapika!"

"Sorry, sorry. I was just testing Shion-kun."


	9. The Testing Gate! P1

"Okay... Thank you for taking the Lamentation Tour today. We will be visiting Kukuroo Mountain, home to the famous Zoldyck family of assassins."

I sighed as the tour guide continued talking about Kukuroo Mountain. All I wanted was to get there quickly.

~LATER~

"Daaaammmn~ That's huge." I remarked, looking up at the large gate in front of us. Gon asked the tour guide how we get in, but she said that you'll never leave alive. I wondered what kind of guard they had.

"It's a sham."

"Huh?"

"A family of assassins that no one's ever seen." Said a big guy wielding many swords.

"Just a photo of their faces is worth a hundred million." Said his partner.

"Seriously? Damn! I should have taken a picture of Killua!" Leoiro lamented with me, Kurapika, and Gon sighing at his stupidity.

The two bandits walked towards the gatekeepers little place and broke down the door. The big guy grabbed the gatekeeper by his collar, forcing him to give the keys, and throwing him to the ground. Me and Gon ran to help him up, but the gatekeeper said something about a Mike eating too much.

After a moment of silence, the door opened and a large, furry hand threw out what was left of them. Everyone screamed in a panic and retreated back into the bus. The tour guide yelled for us to come back on, but Gon told her to just leave without us.

~LATER, LATER~

"I see. So you're young Killua's friends. I'm happy to hear that. I've worked here for twenty years, but this is the first time any friends have come to visit." The gatekeeper gave us each a cup of tea and smiled. "Since I work here, I shouldn't say this, but the place is rather lonely. Though we do see a lot of those..." He pointed to the trash can with bones.

"Well, a family of assassins is pretty unusual. So I suppose it's the price they have to pay. Anyway, I'm glad that you're here. Thank you." He bowed his head respectively.

Leoiro waved his hand. "Don't mention it."

"However... I cannot let you inside."

All of us tensed a little, and I felt myself get a little irritated. I didn't realize that the Zoldyck Family was so pushy...

"Didn't you see the large arm of the creature? Its name is Mike. It serves as the Zoldyck family watchdog. It only obeys family, and will attack anyone else. The beast still follows the order its master gave to it ten years ago... To kill every single intruder. But technically, he isn't following the order. Because he keeps eating them... Anyway, I can't let you inside. I wouldn't want to reduce young Killua's friends to skeletons." With that, he took a sip from his tea and laughed.

"Sir, how is it that you're safe?" Kurapika asked.

"Huh?"

"You go inside, correct? If you never needed to enter, you wouldn't have a key."

"Ha ha, quite perceptive of you. But you're only half right. I require no key to get inside." He fished around in his coat and pulled out a key. "This key is for intruders."

"A key for intruders?"

"For some reason, eighty to ninety percent of intruders attempt to use the front gate. If I don't open the gate for them, they'll try and break it down. Such troublemakers. So we added a locked door to one side. The intruders take the key from the helpless guard, and then Mike eats them."

Kurapika had a thinking face on, but then looked up suddenly. "That's it!"

"As you just realized, I'm not a guard. I merely clean up after Mike."

"And the actual gate isn't locked!"

"Exactly."

The four of us got surprised and looked at the gate simultaneously.

"Eeeh?!"

~LATER, ONCE AGAIN~

Leoiro struggled to push open the gate, his face becoming red. He stopped every now and then to catch his breath, but continued to try and try again. I'll admit, he looked _ridiculously_ hilarious while all this, and it took nearly all my willpower not to burst into laughter.

"I've tried pushing and pulling, but it won't budge! Are you sure it's not locked?" He shouted.

"You just aren't strong enough."

"That's absurd! I've been using all my strength!"

The gatekeeper took off his shirt and coat, suddenly becoming serious. "Just watch." We all stared at him in curiosity as to what he would do. "The gate's official name is the Testing Gate. Anyone who cannot open this gate is unqualified to enter the Zoldyck estate." He pushed the gate with all his might and opened one.

"As you can see, the gate closes automatically, so you'll want to run in, the second it opens. You don't need to worry about Mike. He has orders not attack any who enter through the Testing Gate. Still, this is getting tougher as I age... But they'll fire me if I can't open the gate, so I need to keep in shape. I should mention that each of gate one's doors weighs two tons. "

"Two tons?!" Me and Leoiro exclaimed.

"You're not supposed to be able to open that! Wait, would did you say?" Leoiro asked. "Gate one?"

"Yes, have a look. There are seven gates. When you go up a gate, the weight doubles."

"Doubles?!"

"The number of gates that open depends on the amount of strength you use. Incidentally, when young Killua returned, he opened gates one through three."

"Gate three?" Gon questioned. "That would be twelve tons!"

"Sixteen tons, Gon." Me and Kurapika corrected.

"Eh heh heh..."

"Do you understand now? This is what's required just to get in the door. They live a completely different world."

"Hmm, I don't like it." Gon commented. "Mister, lend me the key. I came here to see my friend, not to be tested. You can consider me an intruder. So let me borrow the key. I'll use the intruders door."

"Gon!"

"Hey..."

I looked at Gon as if he were crazy, but he was right. All we wanted was to get Killua back. Why is that so much to ask for? Gon continued to push for the key and soon the gatekeeper called the house for permission. When the butler refused to let us through, Gon called.

"I'm Gon, one of Killua-kun's friends. Is Killua-kun there?"

There was a moment of silence, and Gon dialed again. Then...

"HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY KNOW THAT?! PUT KILLUA ON THE PHONE!"

I fell back in surprise. Damn... he goin' all out on the butler!

"Yeah... If you put Killua on the phone, he'll recognize me!"

Again, there was a moment of silence. Then Gon left in a flurry of anger and fished his string over the gate and began to climb his way up. The gatekeeper then decided to let us through the other gate, but said he would accompany us through it. But then changed his mind and decided to let us through the Testing Gate and show Gon Mike. We all heard a low growling coming closer, and soon we saw him. Mike.

He was a huge and red, his eyes creepy but calm. He kinda looked like a deformed fox/wolf.

Gon, being the honest guy he was, admitted to being scared of fighting the beast. The guard then began to lead us somewhere, to train I suppose.


	10. The Testing Gate! P2

As the gatekeeper led us through the forest, we finally made it to a cabin.

"Here are the servant' quarters. It's getting late. So you can stay here tonight." He pushed open the door, and I noticed the scruff marks. What the heck? Did the door do that?

"Please, come in." We all stepped inside, the gatekeeper telling someone that he came back.

Another man walked into the living room. He was tall, wore a brown jacket, had dark skin, and smoked a cigarette.

"Oh, you rarely bring guests." He said, scanning us.

"This is works with me here."

"Good evening." Gon chirped.

Seaquant scoffed. "If you managed to win over Zebro, you must be special. Well, make yourselves at home. Though, it won't be easy here."

We were led to a table and given a cup of tea. Seaquant leaned against the wall, folding his arms.

"You want to see young Killua? That's a riot!" Seaquant commented, laughing. I glared at him and Leorio waved his arm. "Sorry, but we're dead serious."

Seaquant shrugged and looked at us. "Then let me give you a warning: Give up and go home." I stood up and slammed my hands on the table. "That sounds more like an insult! Don't try and stop us!" I shouted, earning surprised looks from everyone.

"Zebro told you about the Testing Gate, right? That should give you an idea of what this place is like." He responded cooly. I sat back down and quenched my anger.

"We understand that it won't be easy. But I'm not leaving. Not until I see Killua! Isn't that right, Shion?" Gon turned to me and I nodded. "When Killua was in trouble, I wasn't there for him. If I had been there, I could have stopped Killua! Killua is my close friend!"

"I couldn't say it any better, Gon." I gave him a thumbs up.

"We understand. Then why not do some training here?" Zebro suggested.

"Training?" Me, Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio looked at him in surprise.

"Hey, Zebro..."

"Listen to me, Gon-kun. You four are allowed to work together to open the door. With a little training, it should be possible. How about it?"

"I don't like the idea of being tested... " Gon began.

"But if there is no other way..." Kurapika continued.

"We'll just have to do it!" Leorio finished.

"Yeah!" I fist-pumped the air and grinned.

"Then I'll just need you to put these on." Zebro said.

"Eh?"

~LATER~

I struggled to put the stupid vest on me, and it hurt like hell. When I finally got it on, I fell to the ground on my stomach. I got on all fours and my face turned red. Damn, this vest was HEAVY!

"It weighs fifty kilograms. Please wear it at all times, except while you sleep. I'll make it heavier as you get used to it." Zebro informed us.

"EEEHH?!"

"DON'T SAY THAT WITH SUCH A CHEERY FACE!" I shouted.

~NEXT~

"Please have some tea."

We all looked at our mugs and tried to pick them up. I at least managed to get my cup an inch into the air.

"Ne, Shion! How can you do that?" Gon asked, not even getting his a millileter off the table. I smiled and thought back to my old days. "I told you that my Master Yuu made me go through some pretty intense training, remember?" I replied back.

"The cups weigh twenty kilograms. This teapot weighs forty kilograms. All furniture and utensils in this house weigh over twenty kilograms apiece."

"I see... so this will serve as training." Kurapika remarked.

"It's useless. They'll give up in two or three days." Seaquant commented.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"Seaquant, I believe your shift has already started."

"Oh, that's right..."

"Sorry about that. He isn't a bad person."

We all were silent for a moment, but then Leorio stood up.

"B-By the way... where's the bathroom?"

"Through the door over there."

Leorio turned to Zebro nervously. "I'm guessing the door is also..."

"Yes, it weighs five hundred kilograms."

"Five hundred?! What?! Get out! I can't hold it in!"

We all stood in front of the gate, staring at it. As Gon stepped forward, Leorio stopped him.

"Wait, Gon! You just watch."

"Huh? Why?"

"You need to let your arm heal first." Kurapika reasoned.

"Plus, we won't be able to save Killua as easily if you injure yourself more, you know." I added.

"As long as the three of us can open it, it doesn't matter. Let us handle this!"

"Okay..."

The three of us walked to the gate, ready to open it. Leorio stood to my left, Kurapika at my right. I was in the middle.

"Let's do this you guys!" Leorio cheered.

"Yeah!"

The gate still did not open. After a moment, we fell back, panting for air.

"No use... It won't even budge an inch."

"Damn! But we just started our training. If we work hard enough, we can do it!"

"I wish I could share your optimism."

"This is absurd...!" I turned to Gon and smiled wearily. He could only smile back sheepishly.

Afterwards, we did even more training, and we only had the gate on our minds. Of course, Gon tried to sneak in some training here and there, but he was scolded. I admired his tenacity, though.

So me, Kurapika, and Leorio were here trying to push it open again. We gave in and stood back, getting air.

"This will never work." Seaquant said, folding his arms. "You kids need to wake up."

"In that case, you should quit watching us and do your job!" Leorio countered.

"Tch." Seaquant sighed and closed his eyes.

"Gon is one of us. And he wishes to see his friend. It's only right we should help him." Kurapika said.

"That's right. Gon's like Killua's brother-from-another-mother!" I commented, earning a grin from Gon.

"Okay, let's give it another shot!"

"Yeah!"

We continued to push and push, but still to know success. "Man, you can't just mindlessly push."

We stopped and looked at Seaquant. "Match your timing. You have to push both doors, with all your strength, simultaneously. Or the gate won't ever open."

We decided to try his suggestion and we pushed at the same time, matching our strengths, and surprisingly, the gate opened at least one inch. The surprise must have made us let go, because soon it shut and we were pushed back.

Gon looked amazed and he stared at us with admiration. Gon is really adorable, I gotta say that. In a little brother kind of way.

So we decided to try again. Allowed to take off our vests, I felt so much lighter. We pushed again and got it open just a little. I looked back and saw that Gon was taking off his vest. His arm already healed? Well, since I was in the middle, I didn't want for the doors to be unbalanced.

"Kurapika? Leorio? Can you guys move to the side, a bit?"

"Eh? Why?"

"You'll see."

Kurapika moved just enough for me to stand beside him and Gon stood next to Leorio.

"That's why." I said, grinning. Gon looked at me and he mouthed a thank you.

"Gon?!"

"Why are you using your left arm?"

"Healed?!"

"Are you sure, Gon?"

"Yep! Anyway, all we have to do is push together, right?"

"Right! Let's push!"

"Here we go!"

Together, the four of us got the gate open and Gon fell in, me falling next to him. Zebro told us to follow the oath up the mountain and that should take us to the mansion. So we decided to continue on our rescue mission, unaware of what lied ahead.

The four of us continued on the path as told, but we stopped when we saw a girl standing at the gate-less fence stood in our way. She had the strangest hairstyle, and wore a suit. Her skin was dark and her eyes were grey.

'_These people claim to be Killua-sama's friends?_'

"We don't claim to be, for your information. We _are _his friends." I said. Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika looked at me in surprise, probably wondering where that comment was directed and the girl raised an eyebrow.

"You knew what I was thinking?" She questioned. I shifted and looked around.

"Maybe."

"No matter. Leave. You're trespassing on private property. I cannot allow you to pass without permission." She stated.

"We called ahead. And we came through the Testing Gate." Gon reasoned, stepping forward.

"The butlers did not give you permission to enter." She countered.

"What do we need to do to get permission? I said I was Killua's friend, but they wouldn't put him on."

"I wouldn't know. Because no one has ever received permission."

"Then we'll have to trespass!"

"I suppose so. In any case, this is where I draw the line. If you take one step beyond this line, I'll remove you by force."

We all got ready to fight, but Gon stopped us. He stepped forward and got smacked right in the face. Pissed off, Kurapika took out his weapons and Leorio his switchblade. I had my hand on my katana right from the moment I saw her.

"Leorio! Kurapika! Shion! Let me handle this... ow..."

I looked at him incredulously. "But, Killua is my friend too! I... I want to help him! And all these things are in our way, I can't just let this slide!"

Gon smiled calmly and shook his head. "I'll do this. I know you're frustrated, so I'll save him for the both of us." I took a deep breath and stepped back. Looking into his eyes, his thoughts told me that we were not leaving here without Killua. So Gon kept stepping past the line, and she kept hitting him back.

'_Wh-What's with this kid?! Why won't he stop?!_'

As sunset came, the girl began to get edgy. I noticed her thoughts began to get quicker and quicker, and she had been thinking the same thing. Why won't he stop? Why does he want to see Killua-sama so badly?

"Stop it. Stay away!" She shouted, hitting him once more. "Cut it out! Don't you realize how futile this is?! Why don't you stop him? Aren't you his frie-" She stopped when she saw our faces.

"What's the problem? I'm just here to see my friend. I'm just here to see Killua! Why do I have to do this?!" Gon punched the stone, and the girl jumped back.

"Hey."

"H-Huh?"

"I crossed the line. Aren't you going to hit me?" The girl held her staff and hesitated. "You're different from Mike. You may try to hide your feelings, but you have a heart. When I mentioned Killua, your eyes softened for a moment."

I walked forward next to Gon and looked at her pleading eyes.

"Please... Help Killua-sama- "

Before she could even finish what she was saying, she was suddenly shot by something.

"Honestly, what was that servant babbling about? She made it sound like we're being mean to Killua." Said a feminine voice. Me and Gon looked to our side and saw a women and a child. The lady was wearing a rather fancy dress and held a fan that was most likely the weapon. She also wore a large, ornate hat and an electronic visor. She had bandages wrapped around her face. The child next to her wore a kimono had short black hair and and _extremely _feminine face and body. Like no, seriously, was that a girl or a boy, because I can't tell.

"You must be Gon." She said. Then she turned to me. "I believe Ilumi said your name was Yuki." The four of us exchanged glances and stayed silent about her calling me Yuki.

"Killua knows that you're here. I have a message for you from Kil... 'Thank you for coming. I really appreciate it. But I can't see you right now. Sorry."


	11. Which hand? I don't know!

"Forgive me for not introducing myself. I am Killua's mother. This is Kalluto."

The little kid did not look at all pleased to see us. He looked more like he was determining whether we were strong or not.

"Why can't Killua come see us?" Gon asked. "Because he's in solitary confinement." Killua's mother answered. "Solitary confinement?" I questioned.

"Kil stabbed me and his brother before he ran away from home."

"That _is_ the story he told us." Kurapika muttered.

"Kil returned home because he regretted his actions. And he voluntarily entered the solitary confinement. So we do not know when he will leave... What? Father! What are you doing?! Don't do anything hasty! He's finally returned!"

She appeared to be talking to someone, but who... ? Or she could just be bat-shit insane. "Oh, why must Father be this way? Something has come up. So I bid you farewell." She began to run off, but Gon stood up.

"Please, wait!" Killua's mom turned back towards Gon. Gon pursed his lips and spoke. "We'll be staying in town, so let Killua know."

"Very well. I shall tell him. Goodbye." With that, she turned once more and continued running.

The child stayed behind and stared at Gon. "Who are you?" He/She asked.

"Killua's friends." Gon answered.

"Friends." He/She repeated, as if He/She just tasted a foreign food.

"Kalluto-chan! What are you doing? Come over here!"

"Yes, mother!"

So, instead of going back into town, the girl butler woke up and offered to take us to the butler's office. So, we began to make our way to the butler's office, hoping to see Killua and for all this madness to end.

"Welcome."

I raised an eyebrow at the standing row of butlers.

"Please forgive the rude reception. The lady of the house has asked us to treat you as official guests." The lead butler, Gotoh, said.

"Then this is not the primary residence?" Kurapika inquired. "No, this place is for the butlers. Well, please make yourselves at home." He smiled, but I wasn't sure. "I appreciate the hospitality, but we've come to see Killua. Can you take us to him at once?" Leorio asked.

"That won't be necessary. Killua-sama is on his way here."

"Really?" Me and Gon brightened up.

"That's good news, Gon!" Kurapika beamed. "Now then. To simply sit and wait would be dull. How about a game, to pass the time?" Gotoh offered.

"A game?" I didn't want to participate, but eh. Whatever. How can a game hurt? With that, Gotoh took out a coin and flicked it into the air. "Which hand holds the coin?"

"The left hand." We all answered. "Correct. So I'll move more quickly this time." He flicked it again and caught it. "Well, which hand?"

"Left again."

"Marvelous. Then I shall try harder this time." He flicked it again, but except faster. "Well? Which hand?"

"I'm not positive, but I'd guess the right." Leorio answered, a little unsure.

Suddenly, I felt the mood change. "You see, I have known Killua-sama his entire life. I dare say that I care for him as though he were my own. In all honesty, I must despise you for trying to take him away." Gotoh murmured, making us tense. Then, he looked back up at us. "Well? Which hand? Answer."

"The left hand."

He opened his left hand, and there was a crinkled coin.

"His lady mother could barely speak... She must be heartbroken, having to watch him leave. I cannot forgive it. By the time Killua-sama arrives, a decision will be reached. I shall test you in my own way. You have no choice."

Then, the butlers each held short swords to us, even putting a blade to the girls neck.

"Canary!"

"This is her punishment for having brought you here, against her orders. I shall explain the rules. If one of you answers incorrectly, that person is out of the games. Should you all be disqualified, I shall tell Killua-sama that you left. And that he will never see you again."

"Killua is... "

"Silence! Your lives hang by a thread. Now, answer my question." He flicked the coin and caught it. "Which hand?"

"Sir, may I discuss something with my friends, first?" I asked, staring at him sternly.

"Make it quick."

I turned to them and spoke quietly enough for no one else but them to hear. "You guys, I'm useless." I admitted.

"Why? Mind-reading can't work?" Leorio asked.

I nodded. "I don't know why, but I can't read the minds of people who wear glasses, sunglasses, spectacles, or anything that covers your eyes. They're like some kind of barrier." We exchanged glances and stopped talking.

"You have three seconds to answer." He turned to the man who had Canary. "Hey. After three seconds have passed, slit her throat."

"Okay."

"Wait! Left hand!" Leorio said. "I pick the right hand!" Kurapika followed after.

"Me too!" Gon added in. I thought for a moment, and then opened my mouth. "Left! That way, if right is wrong, we could still have two more people!"

"Two disqualified." He revealed the coin to be in his right hand. He flipped it again and caught it. "I choose the right hand." Kurapika stated. "I pick the left." Gon chose.

"It was in my left hand. Only one remains now. Here I go- "

"One second!" Gon interrupted desperately.

"What is it? If you're trying to buy time, I'll kill one of your friends."

"Leorio, lend me your knife." Gon held his hand out to him.

"Huh?"

"Don't worry. I won't use it for anything stupid."

He cut his eyelid and bandaged it. "Okay! Now I can see. Give me your best!"

Gotoh flipped his coin and Gon guessed left. Then, he flipped the coin among himself and three others. As a tense moment passed by, Gon smirked confidently and pointed behind himself.

"The person right behind me has it."

I raised an eyebrow and sure enough, the guy had it. They clapped and the door opened.

"Gotoh, is Gon here yet?" Killua stepped in before noticing us.

"Oh! You're here, Gon! Yuki!" He turned to Kurapika. "Along with... Kurapika?"

"I'm just an afterthought?"

"Liorio!"

"Leorio!"

"It's been a while. I can't believe you came! What happened? Your face is a wreck!" Killua teased to Gon. "Yours isn't any better!" Gon countered, pointing at his various bruises.

"Hey, Gotoh! I told you to let me know as soon as they arrived! What were you doing?" Killua scolded.

"Forgive me. I had them participate in a little game." He replied apologetically.

"A game?"

"It was nothing more than a poor joke. I apologize for any aggravation. Did you enjoy yourselves?"

"That was really good acting... " Leorio remarked.

"What? Did they try something?"

"No, they were entertaining us."

"Really? Well, whatever. Anyway, let's go somewhere else. Anywhere else, right now. If we stay here, my mother will give us an earful!"

"Yeah!"

We packed up our things and got ready to leave. "Hey, Gotoh! Listen up. I don't care what Mother says. Don't follow me." Killua orderd.

"Understood. Please take care."

"Gon! Yuki! Let's go! Bye!"

As we walked down the hallway, Gon stopped to talk to Gotoh. I was still caught up in my thoughts when I felt a presence a little _too _close to me. "You've been really quiet ever since I got here. What's the deal?"

I looked at Killua and looked away. "Don't call me Yuki anymore. I told them the truth. In fact, you and I need a talk."

"Sounds scary." He commented before joining in on Kurapika's conversation. "Yeah, he's used that trick on me before. Once you know the secret, it's so simple, it'll make you mad."

Killua was explaining to us what Gotoh did, but I didn't really care what Gotoh did. I looked at my feet and wondered when me and Killua would get to be alone. I was certain... he's definitely the one.

~LATER~

"Then I shall depart now." Kurapika said.

"Huh?"

"We managed to see Killua again, so I'm finished here. I'll need money to participate in the auction. So I shall search for a patron to employ me as a Hunter."

"Really... I guess I should go home then." Leorio added.

"You, too?" Gon pouted slightly.

"I haven't given up on my dream of becoming a doctor. If I'm accepted to medical school, I can use this to pay the ridiculous fee. I'll have to go back and start cramming."

"Uh-huh, good luck."

We concluded that we'll see each other once more on September 1st in Yorknew City. After we said our goodbyes, we waved off the airship.

"It's just the three of us now. Hey, what do you want to do?" Gon asked Killua.

"Wait, Gon, I have to ask Killua something." Since I decided it wouldn't really matter if Gon heard or not, I wanted it over with now.

"Ask away, Shion."

I took in a deep breath, and let it out.

"How did you know I was the prince? And... are you the Zoldyck my uncle hired to kill me?"


	12. How is this Heaven!

"How did you know I was the prince? And... are you the Zoldyck my uncle hired to kill me?"

Killua went silent, and he looked away. "Why do want to know so badly? Even if I was, you already figured out that I don't want to kill you."

"Please, just answer the question."

Gon looked at us with a concerned look, but he stayed out of our conflict. Killua looked at me and sighed. "Yes. I'm the one who was hired to kill you."

There was a tense moment of silence, and I felt like shit for making him admit it. "Then... why not? Why not kill me? Even if I ran away, you could have easily tracked me down, regardless of a disguise or not."

"Do you remember a kid named Sousuke?"

I made a face. How did he know about Sousuke? "H-Huh? Sousuke, what about him?"

"I'm him. I was told to encounter you in the forest while you were skipping classes and befriend you. Then, after we became good friends, I was to kill you while we were out in the forest again, except make it look like an accident. You found out and ran off the day before I killed you. You're really lucky."

"How could your uncle be so evil, Shion?!" Gon looked angry, but I was too. "Then... that means it was all an act...?" I looked at him, calm and still pretty pissed off.

"Y-Yeah... but I already told you! In Zevil Island, remember?" Killua looked up into my eyes, his eyes honest as well.

_**"I've... I've had a friend before."**_

_**My smiling face turned confused. What did he mean? I thought Gon was his first friend. **_

_**"But, it was for a mission. So I had to pretend to be his friend... though... I really did grow to like that kid. I didn't want to kill him... and you just seem so like him."**_

"Oh... I remember now. So then..."

"Your running away really relieved me. I was glad and immediately quit the job. That job could have been a changing point for me in my assassin career, though, so my mom was pretty against me quitting. But as said before, I'm an ex-assassin now, you know."

We all stayed silent for a bit, but then Gon grinned. "You know Shion can read minds, right?"

"Gon! I wanted to keep it from him, so that I could tease him about his embarrassing thoughts!"

"Oh, I didn't think of that! Sorry!"

"Shion, you read minds?"

I whistled and turned away, getting ready to run, but was pulled back into a headlock. "Where do you think you're going? You've still got to explain to me that 'mind-reading' of yours...! Plus, we're gonna go training, and you're coming with us."

"That sounds frightening." I commented.

"Suck it up."

"Isn't this kidnap, Killua?" Gon looked at me and he smiled apologetically.

"No, no it's not."

"Killua, I-I can't breathe! P-P-Please let... go..."

"Ah, he passed out."

I stirred in my slumber and tried to find a comfortable way to sit and sleep at the same time. Wait, sit?! My eyes shot open and I looked around. I was currently on an airship with... Killua and Gon!

"You guys, what the hell happened? All I remember was... oh, right. Ha ha. Killua, when we get off this airship, I'm gonna kill you." I glared at him and he made a cat-face.

"Whoa. Look, it's huge!" Gon sounded awed as he looked out the window, and I leaned a little bit forward to get a look at what he was looking at. What I saw was a tall, white building that looked like something a two-year old drew.

"Yep. That's Heaven's Arena. Two-hundred and fifty-one stories. Nine hundred, ninety-one meters tall. The world's fourth tallest building." Killua told us, smiling at the large white building.

"So this is where we'll be training..." Gon murmured.

I raised an eyebrow. Training? I looked at Killua and he explained that since he and Gon were broke and wanted to train, Heaven's Arena was perfect. On the plus side, I was broke, too. I only brought enough money I needed for the Hunter's Exam. So hey, I guess we all were together on this.

~LATER~

So then, Killua was #2054. Gon was #2055 , and I was #2056. We all sat on the bleachers and watched the people battle.

"#1973. #2055. Please enter ring E." Said a feminine voice on the intercom.

"#2055! That's me!" Gon stood up and tightened his grip on his backpack straps. But, he took it off and nervously got ready.

"Gon, you got through the Testing Gate, right?" Killua asked.

"Huh?" Gon looked at him. "Y-Yeah..."

"In that case, all you have to do is push hard!" He advised.

With that, Gon beat his opponent with a single push. When I got called down, I didn't even bother reading my opponent's thoughts. He just ran at me with his fist and I dodged under him. With one high kick, I got him up in the air and smack-dab on the stage. He was knocked-out. The audience roared with cheers and the referee instructed me to go to the 50th floor.

As I passed by some people when I went to sit with Gon, I laughed at what some of them said.

"What the hell are parents feeding their kids these days?"

"These children are messed up."

"The first 200 floors of Heavens Arena are divided into classes, each comprised of ten floors. So after someone defeats an opponent in the 50s, they advance to the 60s. If they lose then they'd drop back to the 40s." The elevator attendant informed us, smiling.

"Oh, so that's how it works." Gon commented.

"Plus, I've heard that after you pass the 100th floor, you get your own room!"

The three of us turned back at the kid who told us that. He was short, had fuzzy light-brown hair, and wore a karategi. His eye-color was between gold and brown. Oh, and I think he also got to the same level as us, but I couldn't quite remember.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! Osu! My name is Zushi! What about you guys?"

"I'm Killua."

"I'm Gon. Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Yu-" I stopped mid-sentence, and quickly decided to just use my real name. "-Shion. Glad to make your acquaintance!"

"We've arrived at the 50th floor!" The elevator attendant said.

We exited the elevator and headed to the receptionist. "I saw your fight earlier! That was really amazing!" Zushi gushed.

"What are you talking about?" You made it up here with one match, too." Killua replied.

"That's right..." Gon looked at him and grinned.

"No... I still have a long way to go. By the way, which martial arts discipline do you practice? I study the Shingen-ryu fighting technique."

"School? We don't have one, right?" Killua turned to me and Gon.

"No..."

"Actually, I learned shinkendo from my martial arts master, Yuu."

Zushi looked at Gon and Killua with a shocked face. "What?! You're that strong with no training? I'm kind of shocked... I still have far to go!" Suddenly, there was clapping and a man began walking towards us.

"Zushi. You did well!"

"Master!"

"You adhered to my teachings."

"Osu! I am honored!" Zushi bowed but then looked up, making an 'oh' face. "Master, your shirt is untucked again."

"Oh, sorry about that... Who are they?" His teacher smiled sheepishly and immediately tucked in his shirt.

"Oh, these are Killua-san, Gon-san, and Shion-san!"

"Nice to meet you. I'm Wing."

The three of us bowed simultaneously. "Osu!"

"I didn't expect to meet other children. Why are you here?" He asked. "Uh... well, we want to become stronger. But we're also broke, so we're making money simultaneously." Killua replied.

"Killua's also a veteran here." Gon added. "Oh? If you're up here, you must be fairly skilled, but you should pay strict attention to your opponent's body, as well as your own." Wing advised us.

"Osu!" The three of us bowed once more before going back to find the receptionist.

"Killua-sama, Gon-sama, Shion-sama, and Zushi-sama. Please hand me your tickets."

She took them in and did some typing. Then, the lady at the desk handed us four brown envelopes. "Here is your prize money." We took our prize money and walked to sit down on a bench.

"One hundred, fifty-two jenny... " Gon counted.

"On the 1st floor, win or lose, your reward covers a canned drink. But beyond that, a loss gets you nothing. A win over an opponent in the 50s nets you fifty thousand." Killua explained to us.

"Fifty thousand..."

"That's a lot."

"In the 100s, I think wins are worth a million."

"What?!" I almost gagged on the soda I got. "Once you're past the 150th floor, you get ten million a pop." Killua continued to explain.

"Ten million? Didn't you make it to floor 200 when you were here before?" Gon asked.

"Th-The 200th floor?" Zushi stuttered. "How much do you get for winning on the 200th floor?"

"Well... I don't really know, because I quit once I reached 200."

I was still stuck at the amount of money earned. So, we walked into the waiting room and waited for the next matches. Killua and Zushi were called to match, so that left me and Gon together.

"Who do you think will win?" Gon asked me.

"Hmm... Killua. But Zushi _is _strong... so we shouldn't underestimate him.

"Mmm. Ne, Shion?"

"Hm?"

"Have you ever read my mind on purpose before?" Gon asked shyly. I looked at him and grinned. "Yeah, sometimes. But don't worry, your thoughts were nothing to be embarrassed about. Although you think about fishing a lot... "

"Of course! Oh and... do you like Killua?"

"... As in...like a friend?"

"No. As in, like-like."

"Why would you ask me that...?"

Gon swung his legs back and forth. "Well, because he really likes being close to you."

I blushed bonked his head. "As if. You're just being delusional, my friend."

"I'm NOT delusional! He really does like you, I swear! When he knocked you out, he piggy-backed you, and when I offered to carry you, he refused!"

"He was just being nice."

"Well... that too, but what about when we were leaving his home?! He was leaning _really _close to you!"

"He was whispering something to me."

"He called you cute while you were sleeping!" Then, he put both his hands over his mouth. "Oops... not supposed to tell you that...!"

"He called me cute... while I was sleeping?"

"Yeah... on the airship..."


	13. Teach us Nen!

"Gon~ I'm bored~ " I whined and kept headbutting his shoulder. "E-Eh... I don't know what to do..." He had a nervous smile on his face and closed his eyes.

"Hey, where were you born?" I asked, finally sitting straight. Gon looked at me and kicked his legs back and fourth. "Whale Island." He answered happily.

"How is it like?"

"It's fun, and there's lots of places to explore. The animals are cool and I like playing with them. But it was lonely sometimes, because the only other kid there is a girl. Killua was my first friend!"

"Yeah, I guess technically he was my first friend too. So you're my third friend!"

"Third...?"

"Chie."

"Oh. Well, you're my second friend. I guess fate brought the three of us together!"

"...do you _really_ believe that...?"

"No..."

So we both got to learn more about each other and socialized. Eventually we were each called to our matches and we won doing what we always did. Gon pushed his opponent and I did a high kick. So, we waited together on a bench for Killua. When he emerged from an elevator, we both got up and greeted him.

"Killua! Over here! See? I got sixty thousand! How about you? It took you a while to get here." Gon gushed.

"Yeah, I ran into a little trouble." Killua replied.

"Then Zushi was pretty strong." Gon commented, and I leaned into his ear. "See? I said for him to not underestimate the kid."

"I HEARD THAT!"

"Oops, sorry."

"Anyways, no, he was not all that strong. He has potential. One day, he'll be strong. But right now, he's just target practice for me. His punches were weak... I was completely able to knock him around. But I couldn't defeat him."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I received the TKO from points, but I couldn't knock him out. Further... When he changed his stance, his aura reminded me of my brothers. I don't know what it was, but it felt dangerous. It must be some kind of technique. His master called it 'Ren'."

"Ren...?" I muttered to myself, trying to think of anything Master Yuu taught me involving this.

So he explained to us what he saw and Gon asked Killua things about it. I was still lost in my thoughts, trying to remember whether or not if Master Yuu taught me this. I felt like he did, but did he really?

"Gon, Shion, change in plans."

"Hm?"

"I'm aiming to reach the top floor!"

We each won six matches doing what we always did. Killua chopped, I kicked, and Gon pushed. When we reached the hundreds, we had a private room. All the while, all I had stuck in my head half the time was if Master Yuu really did teach me what this 'Ren' was. Then, as we were walking down a hallway, it hit me.

"Nen! That's what he called it, Nen! Not 'Ren'!"

"Eh?"

I looked at the two and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry, I was just thinking out loud." Since Ren and Nen sounded similar, I probably just mistook the two. I remembered Master Yuu saying something about 'properly' teaching me Nen when I passed the exam, but I guess he'll have to wait.

"Let's ask Zushi what Ren is." Gon's voice broke my thoughts and I looked at him.

~Later~

"Ren is one of the four major principles. The four major principles for disciplining your mind and body. Fundamental to every martial art! You must know 'Ten', learn 'Zetsu', achieve 'Ren', and reach 'Hatsu'! This is all part of 'Nen' training! That covers everything!"

Killua and Gon appeared as confused as I was, but I at least figured out. "Ooh, so Ren is not just some other form of martial arts and is part of Nen."

"What do you mean?" Zushi asked.

"My Master Yuu told me that he would teach me this 'Nen' after I passed the Hunters Exam, but I decided to come here with Gon and Killua."

"Zushi... Are you sufficiently educated that you can teach others?" A voice chimed in. Zushi froze, becoming nervous as Wing walked to us. "Gon-kun, Killua-kun, Shion-kun. There's an old saying that if you learn something piecemeal, you'll end up knowing less than when you started."

"So a little knowledge is a dangerous thing? But I want to learn right now. Because it's related to the secret behind my brother's power." Killua said.

"Then, your brother is able to use Nen?" Wing questioned.

"I need to know what Nen and Ren even mean! I'll agree to the full learning process rather than a quick explanation! And if you're willing to teach me, I won't try to figure out myself." Killua tried to reason with him.

"I understand. Come with me to my residence." Wing nodded and turned around. As we followed Wing, he turned his head to me. "And I believe you said something about a Master Yuu...?"

"Er... yeah."

"Ha ha, you really are a student of his. Yuu said he had a funny student with a sleepwalking problem, but I never imagined I'd actually meet you."

"Eh?! You know Master Yuu?!"

"Yes, in fact, we're best friends."

~LATER~

"Do I have your attention? Nen means to burn your own soul. In other words, it tests your strength of will. And the four major principles are part of a training curriculum for strengthening your will."

"Strengthening your will?"

"Training?"

"So your will is all it takes to get stronger?" I raised an eyebrow. Me and Killua exchanged looks. It sounded fishy, but I decided not to pry into it.

"That's correct. Ten means to focus your soul into a single point, to increase awareness of your ego and goals. Zetsu means to express yourself in words. Ren means to temper that will. And Hatsu means to act upon that will." Wing explained.

"Ten, Zetsu, Ren, Hatsu. Those are the four major principles." Gon murmured.

"Killua-kun, Zushi tempered his 'refusal to lose', during his fight with you. So, allow me to demonstrate." Wing turned to Killua, getting ready to do an example. "Killua-kun. I think I'm going to kill you now. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, sure. It's not happening." Killua spoke, smirking.

"Then I'll take this step-by-step. First comes Ten. I focus my soul into a single point. Zetsu. You can express yourself mentally or verbally. I will kill you."

His aura was strong, and filled with a murderous intent. I wanted to back away, but I couldn't do it. Suddenly, Killua disappeared. Wing released his aura and I looked around and saw him backed up against a corner.

"Well hey assassin-boy, it's safe to come back down now." I called out.

"That was Ren. If I temper my will enough, then I can act Hatsu. If your will is strong enough, you can make your opponent back down, without moving a muscle. The concept of bluffing derives from this. Ren hardens that which is soft, and you lose the ability to correct an incorrect idea. Therefore, you should avoid using Ren until your soul has fully matured. Right now, you boys and Zushi should be training your souls." Wing told us sternly.

Killua glared at Wing for a moment, but he backed off. "Let's go, Gon. Shion."

"If you wish to learn about Nen, you should focus on mastering Ten. If you master Ten, you will no longer feel the pressure of an opponent's will."

~LATER~

"He's lying?"

"Yeah. The explanation made perfect sense, and Wing is clearly very strong. But his story had holes."

"Huh?"

I looked at Killua and silently agreed. It did seem kinda fishy...

"Zushi's toughness. He kept getting back up after I knocked him down. I was getting irritated, so I used all of my strength during my last attack." Killua reasoned bitterly.

"Oh shit, that must've hurt A LOT." I commented. Killua chuckled. "Willpower didn't keep him standing. He's hiding some other secret. Oh, and Shion, were you using your mind-reading ability when you and I fought at the Final Hunters Exam?"

"Er, yeah, why?"

Killua laughed and he patted my shoulder. "Because, you kept dodging and evading my attacks while I didn't even know what you were about to do! So I eventually got pissed and was about to hit you with everything I had, but then I stopped myself and gave up before that happened!" He continued to laugh like that was a funny joke, and Gon smiled at me sympathetically.

"Great... I feel... lucky."

I stared at the ground as Killua put his arm around me, just telling me that that was in the past, and I needn't worry. I mentally noted to myself that the two of us should never engage in battle ever again.

So, the three of us made it to the 190s doing the same moves. Some guy I was against claimed that I wouldn't be able to kick him because he was as fast as a cheetah, so I ended up tripping him first, then high-kicking him into the air and smack-dab onto the stage. I don't deal with weird people.

And so then the three of us got to the 200s! Whoop-deh-doo!

When we got into the elevator and waited to go up, we all talked about some things for a bit. At first I was insisting that feet were the strangest looking body parts while Gon disagreed, saying that the hands were, but then Killua suddenly interjected and argued that the ears were. So we spent some good time debating which body part was the strangest looking until the elevator opened. Looking out a window, I noticed that it was nighttime.

"You guys, it was daytime when we got onto the elevator, now it's nighttime. How long is the elevator ride?"

"Wow! The 200th floor is so fancy!"

"Where's the receptionist?"

"You guys, listen. It was DAYTIME. Now it is NIGHTTIME."

"This way?" Gon suggested, looking at a sign.

"You guys aren't listening! Please listen! I am insisting that the elevator ride was incredibly long!"

But they continued to not hear what I was saying and I pouted. Muttering to myself, we made it to a hallway with an incredibly dark feeling. I instinctively put my hand on my katana, waiting for whatever came at us.


	14. Ten!

The dark feeling made me shiver, and I felt a chill go down my spine. What could be causing this?

"Let's go. We can do this!" Killua encouraged, but he looked as tense as me and Gon. We moved forward cautiously, but unable to move. "This is a murderous intent aimed at us!" Gon pointed out. I grit my teeth and stared at the open space ahead.

"Hey! Who's there? Show yourself!" Killua hollered. Then, to our surprise, a thin woman stepped out instead. She had purple hair and blue eyes, but she looked like part of the staff.

"Killua-sama, Gon-sama, and Shion-sama, correct? The receptionist's desk is over here, so please register for a 200s match today. You won't be able to register after midnight, so please be careful."

Gon leaned towards us. "Was she the source of all that?"

"No way... she couldn't be..." I murmured.

"I can't tell." Killua answered.

"By the way, there are currently one hundred, seventy-three contestants in the 200s class. And starting from the 200s, all weapons are allowed in matches. So please use whatever you have, such as your katana, Shion-sama. Also, you will no longer receive prize money in the 200s class. You will fight only for glory, so please understand that if you're going to participate."

Then, just by her head, we saw a thin line. It spun and revealed to be a card before flying right onto the ground in front of us. When we looked back up, behind the mysterious woman was a tall male figure wearing jester-atire. I already knew who it was.

"H-Hisoka... Why are you here...?"

"It's hardly that strange. I love to fight, and this is a temple to fighting. And why are _you_ here?" He narrowed his eyes unhappily before immediately smiling. "**Just kidding**... "

"This was no coincidence. I've been waiting for you. Remember how you ordered airship tickets over the cybernet? With a little effort, it's possible to determine where and when someone will arrive. Well, I knew you would come here eventually. And so, as a veteran, I have a warning for you. It's still to early for you boys to step on this floor." With that, Hisoka raised his hand and in one motion, he had the three of us flying back. "How early depends on your efforts. Leave for now. It's too early right now."

"That's stupid! We just got up here!" Killua protested, looking angry. He had stepped forward but stopped when he felt his presence.

"I won't let you pass. Not that you could, anyway."

I couldn't move. I wanted to take Gon and Killua and go, but my legs were stuck. Gon tried to push forward, but then I felt another presence.

"Don't be reckless!"

We turned our heads and saw Wing.

"Wing-san!"

"You have no defense against his _Nen_."

"Nen?"

"Right now, you are like someone standing naked in a blizzard, wondering why it is cold. If you continue to strain your body, you may die."

"This is nen?! He can stop us from moving through willpower? Don't lie!" Killua shouted angrily.

"Yes, I was lying. Though technically, I wasn't lying completely. I will teach you the truth about _Nen_. So retreat for now." Wing answered back tensely.

We looked at each other, then Gon turned to the woman. "Hey, receptionist lady."

"Oh, yes?"

"What happens if we don't register for a fight today?"

"Gon-sama, you and Shion-sama would have to start again, from the first floor. However, Killua-sama refused to register once before. So if he fails to register again, his commitment will be questioned, and he will be banned from participating."

I looked at Killua.

"Hey, Wing-san. If we back down now, will we be able to return here by midnight?" Killua asked.

"That depends on you."

~LATER~

"To be short, this is _Nen. Nen _refers to the ability to manipulate your aura also known as life energy. Every person possesses a small amount of life energy. But in most cases, it's simply discharged. The ability to build up a shroud of life energy is known as _Ten. _You can make your body harder, and considerably slow the effects of aging."

"Then comes _Zetsu_. As you may guess, this nullifies your aura. It is effective for concealing your presence, and recovering from extreme fatigue. Which brings us to _Ren_. A technique to create an especially strong aura."

I stared at Wing in awe, his aura was so peaceful.

"Can you feel that?"

"Yeah, I can feel the pressure." Killua answered.

"But it doesn't feel dangerous." Gon added. I nodded in agreement.

"That's because I have no hostile intent." He paused for a moment, then continued. "Aura is an energy that comes from within humans. Which makes it very effective against other humans. For better or worse. If you attack a helpless person, with ill intent, you can use aura to kill."

...Moment of silence...

"Only one thing can protect you from someone who uses _Nen_. You must also learn to use _Nen_. You must use _Ten _for defense. Block the other person's aura with your own. Otherwise..." Wing put his hand against the wall and with barely a push, he cracked the wall. "You body will be crushed."

"And... how exactly do you intend to fix that...?" I murmured.

"Nen is a power that dwells within every person. However, at present, only a few are capable of using that power. Thus, they are treated as geniuses, leaders, psychics, mystics, or superhumans."

"A power that dwells within everyone..." Gon murmured.

"Yes. And there are two means by which to awaken this power. The deliberate way and the aggressive way. Zushi underwent the deliberate method. He was a quick learner, and he trained hard. So he was able to master Ten in a very short time. In about six months."

"That's too long... We need to learn Ten, and pass Hisoka's Nen barrier before midnight!" Killua protested.

"Then you'll have to try the aggressive method."

"Will it be fast enough?"

"That will depend on you. Can you learn to hold your aura within your body, before time runs out? That is the key. I will now direct my aura toward you. This is known as Hatsu, which I demonstrated earlier. Naturally, I will restrain myself, since my objective is not to destroy your bodies. However, this way is still perilous. In other words, I will attempt to shock you into awakening. I will give your sleeping body a jolt so you can use Ten more easily."

"I say that you body sleeps because your body's openings are micropyles, are closed, meaning that your flow of aura is stunted. Therefore, I will send my aura into your bodies, to open your micropyles. Under normal circumstances, you would spend a long time meditating and discovering your own auras, while slowly opening those apertures. Even Zushi, a natural talent, required three months."

"However, you three could do it in a week. Or even sooner. Which is why I find it unfortunate that we have such little time to work with."

"I don't really get it... But quick and dirty is always better." Killua interjected.

"This is a shady, highly frowned upon method. You will be ignoring the correct procedure. You could even die, if the person using this method were weak or evil."

"But you aren't weak..." Gon said.

"And you aren't evil..." I added.

"Right?" We both questioned.

Wing sighed and rubbed his head.

"That's why I want to know... Why would you suddenly decide to teach us the true major principles?" Killua asked.

"Because I didn't want to squander this opportunity. If you were to challenge the 200s, with none of this knowledge, you would suffer greatly. Up there, everyone knows how to manipulate Nen. And they have a special greeting for any newcomer ignorant of Nen, a Nen attack. In other words, they do what I am about to, but without restraint. They don't care, even if people die... Only those who survive are allowed to pass. They are the chosen. However, they pay a steep price. That's why I wanted you to be prepared. Now, despite my attempts to scare you, I have confidence that this will awaken your power!"

"You have the potential. As well as the ability. Put your belongings down, take off you shirt, and turn your backs toward me. Except for you, Shion-kun. I will explain why afterwards."

"Ah, okay..." I looked into Gon and Killua's eyes and read their thoughts of surprise. When Wing began, there was a burst of light and it faded.

"Every micropyle on your bodies has opened."

"Th... This is..."

"That is your aura, or life energy." Wing said. "You can see it now, because the micropyles in your eyes were also opened."

"It's like smoke... Like steam, rising from a kettle." Gon remarked.

"It's rushing out from every part of my body." Killua added. "It won't stop gushing out. Isn't that dangerous?"

I raised an eyebrow and looked at Wing.

"This is your life energy, so if it continues to escape, you will grow tired. If you expend all your aura, you will collapse from fatigue."

"Really?"

Wing clapped his hands. "Listen to me. You must concentrate on keeping your aura within your body. Close your eyes!"

Gon and Killua shut their eyes and listened.

"Use any stance that helps you to focus. Then visualize your aura flowing like blood through your body. From the top of your head to your right shoulder. To your hand before passing through your legs, to the left side. And now visualize that flow beginning to ebb and hovering around your body."

"Slowly open your eyes. How do you feel?"

"I feel like I'm surrounded by some kind of warm mucus." Gon replied.

"Yeah, like I'm wearing weightless clothes." Killua stared at his hands.

"Now, Shion, do you remember those geniuses I have talked about?" Wing turned to me and I thought.

"Uh, yeah, the people who unknowingly use Nen..."

"You would be a perfect example!"

"Shion?" Gon looked at me and I blinked.

"Yes. He has been using Nen for some time now. I was confused at first because he seemed just as eager to learn Nen as you two even though he had already been using Hatsu, but it seems that he had been using it without knowing it all along. Though, your aura is... how do I put it... immature? No, uncontrollable. It appears that when you touch someone, you 'mark' them with your Nen. Such as on Killua and Gon. Look at yourselves carefully."

They looked all around their bodies and if looking hard enough, there was just the faintest red glow around their aura.

"It seems that your Nen involves you marking your Nen onto someone else. Have you ever done anything strange, that no one else should be able to do?"

"Uh, yeah... I can read minds... Every time I stare into someones eyes, their thoughts are written out next to them for me. Only I can see it though... I call it the Thought Script."

Wing went silent and he appeared to be muttering to himself about something, but he turned back and smiled. "Well, I'm going to help you use Ten. Look into my eyes."

"Oh, no, I can't do that sir!" I waved my arms in a no-can-do manner.

"Hm, why is that?"

"Because anything covering ones eyes are like barriers, so then I can't read their mind."

"Then Zushi. Shion-kun, turn to Zushi and look into his eyes."

I did as he told and stared into his eyes. A red glow began enveloping him and the Thought Script appeared.

'_I wonder if Shion-kun really can read my mind... How does it work? I'm so nervous!_'

"Your aura seems to cover one's body... so that's how you mark them. But you don't need too much aura to mark them, so you use too much when you mark someone. Anyways, now do what I instructed Gon-kun and Killua-kun to do."

I let myself relax and imagined my aura flowing inside me. When I opened my eyes, I felt pretty damn good, like as light as air.

"Now you are using Ten." He smiled, then got serious. "Continue to maintain the images that you three got. Once you've assimilated them, you'll be able to use Ten while asleep. Next, I will use hostile Nen against you!"

We tensed, but it did nothing...

"Previously, it would have been painful for you to stand within this."

"Yeah, I understand you blizzard analogy now." Killua remarked.

"If you can fend off my Nen, you'll be able to break through his barrier! Here I come!" He made a Nen barrier filled with hostile intent.

"Gyaaaaaahh!"


	15. A Sweet Moment

We managed to shield ourselves against Wing's Nen, so now here we were. In the hallways of Heaven's Arena, up in the 200s, walking towards Hisoka. He smirked and immediately began to make his Nen barrier. But, we got through it thanks to Ten. His smile of satisfaction told me that he was... pleased that we got through.

"Welcome to the 200s. It appears I needn't bother with the traditional greeting. I can guess why you've come to Heaven's Arena. You intended to train before challenging me."  
"Yeah, but I didn't expect to find you here. That saves me time." Gon said.

Hisoka chuckled. "You should avoid being overconfident in your ability to use Ten. There is much to learn about Nen. To be honest, at present I feel no urge to fight you..." He stood up and continued to smirk. "However... If you manage to win a single match in the 200s, I shall accept your challenge."  
With that, he walked away cooly.

"Let's go." Killua said after, turning around.

"Yeah..."

"In the meanwhile, Shion, tell us more about your ability." Killua and Gon turned their heads to me, waiting for me to speak.

"Eh... I don't really have anything else to it... I can read minds, that's all. Though, it's very troublesome to reads minds during fighting sometimes... I mean, the moment I look away, the Thought Script disappears."

"What?! You mean, then you'll have to keep eye contact at ALL times?!" Gon blurted.

"Yep."

"Why would you tell us your weaknesses? You never know when one of us will be your opponent." Killua hand-chopped the top of my head and I smiled sheepishly. "Well, I don't really care about Heaven's Arena... I only care about the Nen training, really..." Killua chuckled a bit and shook his head. "I swear, sometimes you are more simpleminded than Gon..."

Gon looked at him incredulously. "What's THAT supposed to mean?!"

But before Killua could give a comeback, we found ourselves in front of the receptionist.

"Welcome to the 200s! Please fill out the forms here. Would you like to register for a match now?"

We looked at one another, then back at her.

"In this class, there is a self-service system by which you're permitted ninety days of preparation. You may choose to fight on any day during that time. Of course, you're free to fight everyday, and you can also wait until the very lat day to fight. Once you've participated in a fight, you have another ninety days to prepare."

I thought for a bit. "What happens if you don't fight in those ninety days?"

"We take you out and shoot you." The receptionist replied cheerfully. Seeing our blank faces, she laughed. "C'mon, it's a joke! No, you just get disqualified."

"Does that mean we'll be fighting in this class multiple times?" Gon asked.

"Yes! You need ten wins to clear this floor. However, if you lose four times before ten wins, you'll be disqualified. And if you win ten times, you get a chance to challenge the Floor Masters! The Floor Masters are the twenty-one strongest fighters here. Each claims one of the floors, from 230 to 250. Do you understand now?"  
She continued talking, but I stopped listening. To be fair, I never really cared in the first place. I looked at Gon and Killua to see what they wanted to do.

"Forget that. Is there anything special about the top floor?"

"That's what you want to know?! The Champion of Battle Olympia get's to live in the top floor! It's an incredible honor!"

Once again, I stopped listening and began to doze off. "Oi, Shion, you gonna fight too?" Killua asked me. I immediately woke up and looked around. "Wait, what...?"

"Are. You. Going. To. Fight?"

"Uh... sure... It'll serve as excellent training." I answered.

"I'll need you to fill out this form, as well."

As Gon and I filled out our forms, I felt an uneasy presence. I heard a whirring noise and footsteps. So, I quickly finished filling out the form and turned around.

"You want something?" Killua asked.

"No, not really." The wheel-chair guy replied.

"We're simply in line to register for a fight." The one with no left arm added.

"Oh, I get it. Gon, Shion, these guys want to fight on the day you do."

I looked at Gon and he looked at them.

"I'm ready to go whenever." He said.

"Me too.. " I added, sighing a bit.

"There you go."

They each chuckled darkly, but then a jingling sound caught my attention. I looked back to see the receptionist was holding keys.

"Then Gon-sama will be in room 2207. Killua will be in room 2223. Shion-sama in room 2226. We will let you know which day your match is."

With that, we took our keys and left. We had explored Gon's room first, then me and Killua left to get to our rooms. It was mainly silent between us, but we talked a bit. I got to know a little more about Killua, and I told him a little more about me. He wanted to get me to my room first though, so he went into my room with me. I sighed in awe and jumped onto the bed. Killua smiled and sat next to me.

"I'm worried about Gon..." I said after a small moment of silence, sighing.

"Hm, why?"

"He could get hurt very badly if he's not careful tomorrow..."  
Killua pat my head and laughed. "Yeah, I know how you feel." Then, he looked at my arms.

"Ne, Shion, give me your arm." He said, holding out his hand. I raised an eyebrow and he took my left arm, rolling up the sleeve. He stared at some long scars for a while.

"See...? I told you they would leave permanent scars..." He murmured.

"What would?"

"Remember when I was still pretending to be your friend, we were playing in an abandoned warehouse?"

"Hm, what of it?"

"I almost fell onto broken glass. Then you pulled me out of the way and lost balance, hurting yourself instead. You showed me your arms and I got mad, hitting your head. Then I told you that the scars would probably be permanent..."

"Oh yeah..." I smiled and rolled my sleeve back down. "But at least we got the cuts cleaned up. And they didn't get infected."

"But you insisted on washing the blood away using the stream, so your bodyguards wouldn't freak out and constantly follow you."  
We laughed and talked about more things, but I eventually got sleepy. When I closed my eyes and fell back, I barely noticed that Killua had pulled me to the pillows and properly put me to bed.

**NO ONES POV**

Killua gazed at Shion's sleeping face. He leaned down and gently nuzzled his cheeks before falling asleep next to him.


	16. Gon vs Gido!

**Chapter 16: Gon VS Gido!**

**Hiya hiya! Si I thought that Chapter 15 was written out pretty stupidly, so I'm going to rewrite it. So there isn't going to be a sleepwalking Shion until later!**

I sat in the loud crowd next to Killua. The both of us were watching Gon's match, waiting for the match to begin.

"Gon..." I murmured.

He activated his Nen and got into a battle stance.

"There they are, Gido's Dancing Tops! He uses numerous tops to attack his opponent!" The commentator enthused.

Gon appeared troubled as to what to do, the tops spinning around him. But, two of the tops bumped together, and hit him from behind.

"Clean hit!"

"Oh, Gon gives up a clean hit and one point right off the bat! He's off to a rough start."

I tensed and balled my fists. Gon was already hit... what more could happen...?

~Flashback Attack~

_"Gon... Be careful in this match. We still haven't learned much about Nen, so you can get really hurt..." I squeezed Gon's shoulder and he smiled._

_"Who are you, Mito-san? I'll be fine. I need the experience. So, you don't need to worry, Shion." He gave me a thumbs up and walked off._

~Flashback End~

Gido directed his spinning tops at him again and Gon was struck in the back. Then again in the face. He appeared to have stopped to think while dodging, but then he was struck again in the abdomen and out of the ring. The ref began to make a countdown, but Gon wasn't going back into the ring.

"What could he be doing...?" I muttered.

He then jumped back into the ring and charged at Gido, but in a flurry of surprise, he began to spin like a top and hit Gon, sending Gon flying back. Gido had nine points now. But, to me and Killua's surprise, he began to... release his aura?!

Killua stood up angrily. "Idiot! If you're hit by a Nen attack, without protection, you'll be totally messed up!"

But, Gon was able to dodge them easily. He was dodging the tops fluidly, and I stared at him in awe. Man, Gon was amazing...

~LATER~

"Your right radius and ulna were both broken. Fractured humerus. Three broken ribs. Twelve other minor fractures. Four months before you're completely healed up. You moron!"

I stared at Gon angrily and and he gave us both an apologetic stare. "S-Sorry..."

Killua poked his forehead. "An apology won't help! Do you have any brains in there?! Didn't you see what happened to those who'd suffered the traditional Nen greeting?! One wrong move and you could have ended up like them! You're lucky not to be hurt any worse. Man, why do you think Four-Eyes was training us?!"

I nodded, agreeing with Killua's lecture.

"Still... I had a feeling I'd be okay. I took a few hits, but I wasn't in any mortal danger, as long as he missed my vital spots..."

I threw my shoe at his forehead and Killua pressed his foot against his broken arm. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Killua stopped. I was still in the midst of throwing my other shoe when Killua opened the door.

"Ah, Four-Eyes! Oh, oops..."

Wing stepped in next to Gon and slapped him.

"An apology won't help! What were you thinking?! Didn't you see those who'd suffered the traditional Nen greeting?! You could have ended up just like them!" He scolded angrily.

"Oh, that's what I just told him." Killua said.

Wing sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. "Honestly... I'm glad you weren't hurt any worse..."

"Wing-san... I really am sorry."

"No, I won't let this one slide. Killua-kun, do you know when Gon-kun will have recovered completely?"

"The doctor said it would take two-months."

He made a cat-face and I sighed, bonking his head.

"I understand. I won't allow you to participate in any matches for two months! I won't allow you to train in, or study about, Nen. If you don't abide by these rules, I will never teach you again. Well?"

"I understand. I'll do as you say."

"Give me you left hand."

With that, Wing tied a 'Promise Thread' onto his pinky and turned to us.

"Killua-kun, Shion-kun, a moment please."

We stepped outside and well, outside-outside to talk. Killua sat on a bench and I sat next to him.

"What is the true objective you three are pursuing?" He questioned.

"Well, we don't really have an objective." He answered. I shrugged and looked at him. "I'm just wasting time with these two idiots until I turn fourteen. Literally. I have something I've been waiting for... something that can only happen until two years..." I replied, earning a look of confusion from Killua.

"Anyways, before running into Zushi and you, my plan was to earn some quick cash. Gon's here to train hard, so he can defeat a guy named Hisoka. That's it, really. Looks like the others in the 200s want to reach the top floor. Battle Olympia, was it? I'm not too interested. Oh, Gon is... Well, I'm not sure... He said that he only wants to fight Hisoka. But after seeing his match yesterday, I have a feeling he enjoys the thrills... "

I nodded and sighed. "Gon is... amazing... and stupid... and simple-minded..."

"You say he was enjoying a situation that he could have lost his life in?"

"Yeah. I know because I've felt the same way. Although I take circumstances into consideration, too. Once he's in the zone, he loses sight of everything else. Oh! But he isn't the type to break a promise twice, so you needn't worry!"

"It doesn't matter. Because we already know. If you regret teaching us and decide to back out, we'll find someone else, or we'll learn it ourselves. You don't have to feel responsible. My brother and Hisoka both use Nen, so Gon and I were bound to discover it eventually. And Shion's teacher was going to teach it to him either way."

He got up and and signaled me to follow.

"I understand. And I mean to finish what I started. There are many things I must tell you. Zushi is waiting in my lodge. You can train with him."

"No, we'll pass. I won't leave Gon behind, and I'm sure Shion probably feels the same. If he keeps his promise, we'll start training when he does."

"Tell Gon-kun this... I will allow him to practice the other 'Nen'! Tell him to practice 'Ten' daily!"

As we made our way back to the room, Killua looked at me and I grinned.

"Ne, what are you waiting for anyway?" He asked.

"The Kinging Ceremony. The day I am crowned Emperor of Hananoshima." I answered. He looked... rather down.

"Does that mean you're leaving us afterwards...?"

"I don't know... we'll just wait until the day comes, I guess..."

~LATER~

We stepped into the room to see that Gon was already training. So, we both smiled and sat down to train as well.


	17. I love you!

"Let's go hang out, you guys." Killua said.

I stopped my ''Ten' and looked at him. "Why?"

He walked towards a window nonchalantly and looked out over the city. "It's boring here. We haven't fought a single match, and it hasn't even been a full month yet."

"Well, tomorrow it would be." Gon pointed out, stopping his 'Ten' for a moment. "Yeah, you're right, I suppose." Killua sighed. "Well, what do you say? We can stop training for while, then continue."

"You two can go. I want to train for as long as I can." Gon said, going back to his 'Ten'.

"Well, I never had a say in this, but sure, whatever." I uncrossed my legs and stood up from the chair I was sitting in. Stretching and awakening my body parts, I was ready to go wherever. I followed Killua out the door.

"We'll be back before night, Gon!" Killua said loudly enough for Gon to hear him.

"Okay!"

As we walked down the hall and into the elevator, we mainly talked about Nen. Killua wanted me to use my Nen on other people, and I gladly did. I still don't know how to control the amounts of Nen I mark onto people though, so I didn't read a lot of their minds. Killua and I made it outside as we decided to eat out at a small cafe.

"Hey, so do you have a dad?" He asked me, using a fork to cut into his cake.

I froze for a bit, a little embarrassed. "Y-Yeah, of course... Who doesn't have a dad, you know?"

"Orphans."

"Shut up. Anyways, yes, of course I have a dad. It's just that... My dad died before I was even four. So... I don't really remember my dad much."

"Oh... Well then, how about your mom?"

"..."

"Did she... die as well...?"

"Y-Yeah... when I was ten... I..." Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face. "I feel so guilty... The last wish my mother probably wanted was to just see me one more time... before she died...and I wasn't there. I wasn't there to comfort her... or even say goodbye."

Killua looked at me, unsure of what to do, so he grabbed some napkins and handed them to me. "H-Here... just stop crying before you make a scene..."

"Nah... I'm alright now." I wiped the last tears away and sighed. "You must think I'm a big baby..." I murmured looking down at my lap.

"No, no I don't."

"And why is that?" I questioned, looking at him. "Because that only proves that you loved your mother. I find it very hard to love anyone in my messed-up family... besides one but she's another story." He answered.

"I won't ask questions."

"Well, do you have anyone besides your mother that you liked?"

"Hm... there's two other people...I regret leaving them, but it was for the best, I suppose."

"Who were they?"

"They were my body guards, Zero and Taka. They were orphans from a nearby orphanage, but the Head guard adopted them and trained them to be my main body guards. I'll admit, they're a little _too _fond of me. Taka never really showed, seeing that he has a blank face all the time, but Zero... Man he was so over-protective. He'd even attack a puppy if it even so much as nipped me. But, I guess they're like my older brothers."

"Ha ha, they kind of sound like some of my family's butlers." Killua remarked, and we both laughed. "So then, do you miss them?"

"Yeah, sometimes. But, I love Chie as well. She's awesome and cool, once you get to know her. She and Taka would get along."

Afterwards, we left and played in the game arcades for a while. Then we just walked around a park, exchanging stories from childhood. And I gotta say, Killua must have had a rough past. It even made my childhood sound like nothing compared to what he went through. I would've already been dead if I was in his shoes. So after some time walking, we sat down on a bench and just talked about the experiences we had in the Hunter Exam.

"Ne, Shion...?"

"Hm?"

"Have you ever thought about... how it's like to love someone...?" Killua asked, a little embarrassed. "Didn't we already discuss that in the cafe?" I replied.

"Not family love, romantic love."

"Well then aren't we a little too young to already be thinking about relationships? I mean, we _are _only twelve."

"No, I'm not that interested in girls. In fact, not really any have caught my attention."

"You don't even have any girl friends except for Canary."

"She doesn't see herself as a friend though."

"Oh."

"But... Shion..." Before I knew what was going on, he held my chin and gently pulled me into a small kiss. Then after, he turned his head in embarrassment and was completely red. I was red as well. I had no idea how to react. Of all the years of training I went through, mentally and physically, I have never prepared myself for _this_.

"E-Eh... Wha... What was that all about..?"

"I don't know! It's just that this seemed like the perfect moment, so I...!"

"If you like me, just say so! Don't just surprise kiss me!" I scolded lightly, still madly blushing from that small moment.

"So you didn't like it?"

"No, it's not that I didn't like it! I mean, I just wasn't expecting that!" I sighed and stood up.

"Let's just... go back. We'll figure out how to handle this on our way back... I guess."

"Yeah..."

~LATER, in Gon's POV~

I was still training 'Ten' when the door knocked.

"The door's open!"

Killua and Shion stepped inside, the both of them blushing and... holding hands?

"So heeey, Gon..." Shion began, looking at Killua.

"We're in a... relationship." Killua finished, his face clearly showing that this entire thing was embarrassing. I smiled and grinned.

"Well then, how's it like?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"It's **weird**." They both answered.

They both sat down and began to train 'Ten' while leaving me here in the dark. What the heck happened on their day out? And what did they mean by weird? Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter. I'll figure out on my own one day.


	18. A Chilling Encounter

Alas, a month passed.

"HOLY SHIT, JUST ONE MONTH AND ALL YOUR INJURIES ARE HEALED?! YOU'RE A FREAKING ALIEN!" I exclaimed, darting all around him. Gon smiled and just continued doing exercise routines. Then, the door opened. "Gon, I got something good..." Killua began, but stopped mid-sentence when he saw Gon.

"Oh, Killua, I was about to go looking for you." He flipped up and did a one-arm hand-stand.

"Yeah, this kid's a monster..." I sighed and grinned devilishly. In one quick motion with my leg, I had Gon falling onto the floor. I burst into laughter and Gon glared at me.

"That wasn't very nice, Shion!" He said, rubbing his head.

"Sorry, Gon, but the opportunity was so perfect, I just had to!" I was still laughing as Gon stood up. Pointing at me, he looked at Killua.

"Killua, do something about your girlfriend!"

"Girlfriend?!" I looked at Gon incredulously.

"Well, in a relationship, Mito said there is always the girlfriend and boyfriend." Gon explained. I sighed again and put my hands on my hip. "But why am _I _the 'girlfriend'? I'm a _boy_." Gon shrugged and smiled. "I don't know. It was just a thought, I guess. But something else I learned from my days on Whale Island is that in a relationship, there is always a top guy and bottom-"

"Okay, enough about that...!" Killua was blushing and he silenced him. "Anyways, Gon, are you really healed?"

"Yeah!" He did some flips and began showing his perfect health. "See? I'm perfectly fine!"

"Okay, I get it. Man, what is your body made of?"

"How to answer that..." He replied.

"You're weird..."

Gon pouted really quickly but got back on track. "Well? Weren't you about to say something?"

"Oh, here."

"Tickets?" Gon looked at them curiously.

"These aren't just tickets." Killua reasoned.

"Then... what are they, bombs?" I looked at him, and he rolled his eyes.

"They're for Hisoka's fight."

-TIMESKIP-

"It's a shame that Gon can't watch the battle. He would've had a good time... But! A promise is a promise." I looked at Killua and he grinned.

"But this Kastro guy... is he really that good?" He grin had a hint of mischief and I sighed. "Killua..."

"Just a small test! It's not going to be anything big!"

I looked into his eyes and his smile got even more confident.

'_We'll see if he can back it up._'

"Well, nothing can obviously stop you, so I'll just wait here."

He left and I looked back at the TV. Then, just a few seconds later, someone bumped into me.

"Ah, sorry, sorry!"

I turned to the person and stopped in my tracks. I froze, and my nerves froze, and my mind... well, froze. The person I bumped into... it couldn't be... Zero.

But, it was. His spiky orange hair, flaming green eyes, rectangle glasses... And the uniform he wore. The crest of the Royal Kouta family was sewed onto his suit-coat's breast pocket. And next to him was... Taka! I recognized his long purple hair, and his cold blue eyes. Why... What were they doing here?!

"N-No, it's okay..." I managed to say softly as they walked past me.

I turned back around and managed to calm myself just a little. _No... they can't recognize me. The last they saw me was when I was seven and my eyes and hair were still their natural color... This disguise should have fooled them. I'm okay..._

I sighed with relief and looked at the TV once more, but I couldn't concentrate. Something was eating me from the inside... a sick, bad feeling of the future.

~LATER~

**"Yes, it's finally time... The long-awaited rematch between Hisoka and Kastro!" **The commentator gushed excitedly.

"Shion... what's wrong?"

I turned my head to Killua, and he looked genuinely concerned. "You don't look so good. Are you getting sick?"

"No... I can't explain now, but I promise I'll explain later, okay?" I assured him that I was fine and he left me alone.

Kastro and Hisoka appeared to have exchanged words first, and then fight started.

-TIMESKIP-

"Hisoka's fight... was amazing." I commented in awe.

I sighed as me and Killua walked through the halls to report to Gon. And, as we neared his room, I heard someone call for me. I turned my head to see... The Hunter from Trick Tower?!

She was smiling and waving, walking towards me.

"Shion, you know this lady?" Killua looked at me and I smiled sheepishly.

"Go inside without me."

He nodded and I closed the door behind him.

"U-Uh, hello miss..."

"It's Kyung. So hey, you passed the Hunters Exam! Good job!" She pat my head and I laughed.

"What are you doing here?"

"Ah, Hisoka invited me to watch his match, then invited me again to have dinner. He always so murderous..."

"You don't seem scared of him at all."

"No, I'm not. Why? Are you?"

"Yeah... he's a creeper."

She laughed and pat my shoulder. "He's scary and creepy, but I've been around him for too long. I'm used to his weirdness. Well, it was cool seeing you again kid. Become a good hunter!" With that, she continued walking. I whistled and stepped inside the room.

"So Shion, what did you need to tell us?" Gon asked, stretching his arms.

I sat down on a couch and gave to two very serious looks.

"I ran into my body-guards, and I have a really strong feeling that... they're looking for me."

Gon and Killua stared at me. They then looked at each other.

"Your body guards?! Are you sure that you just aren't making a mistake?" Killua asked. I nodded.

"It's them alright. They each had my family crest on their clothing."

Gon made a troubled face. "If they find you... what exactly happens?"

"They'll take me back to Hananoshima... Then... My uncle will murder me."

Killua and Gon stood up angrily, the both of them now determined _NOT_ to let Zero or Taka find me. Killua paced around the room, and Gon sat back on the couch. He looked at me and I smiled softly.

"Shion... You're taking this so calmly." He remarked.

"Oh, trust me... I'm scared." My knees began to shake, and I leaned against the couch. "But... I should be fine. My disguise seems to have fooled them."

"They'll find out eventually." Killua stood in front of me, and I got up from the couch. I stepped forward and hugged him.

"They _won't_. I will make sure of it. But now we need to focus on training and learning Nen. Plus, I still have to fight in a match."

The two of them weren't fully convinced, but they let the subject drop.


	19. And two monthes later

"Gon-kun. Killua-kun. Shion-kun. Starting today, you'll train with Zushi. Gon-kun, I'm pleased that you kept your word." Wing smiled at him and Gon smiled back.

"It's thanks to your promise thread. A few times I almost gave in. But when I looked at the thread, I was able to control myself." He looked at the thread tied around his pinky.

"That's because I added some Nen to help you." Wing said.

"Huh? Really?"

"No, I was lying."

"Huuuh?!" Gon made a face. "But how could you tell that he kept his word?" Killua questioned. "He could have been practicing in secret." Gon pouted at him and I patted his head in reassurance.

"Because the promise thread remained intact. Gon-kun, it's been a while, but would you try using Ten?" He replied.

"It's okay?"

"Yes."

He concentrated and began to activate his Ten. Then, when he pulled it off, he grinned in relief. "I did it! Whew... I was worried that I might have forgotten how."

"Once you've learned the technique, you can't forget it. However, to become a master, you'll have to train hard." Wing advised.

"But it felt easier than before, despite not having been practicing Ten." Gon reasoned.

"That's because you were training your spirit each day. Now, look at your left hand."

Gon turned his head and gasped in surprise. "It snapped!" The thread tied around his pinky had snapped and now was no longer around his pinky.

"By applying my own Nen, I tied the thread such that if you broke your promise and used Nen, it would snap."

"Ne Wing-san, did you watch Kastro and Hisoka's match?" Killua asked him.

"Yes, I did."

"What was the ability that Hisoka used? Could we send limbs flying around?" He wondered.

"Hmm, that's a difficult question. Gon-kun, have you seen the fight on video?"

"No, not yet."

Wing then grabbed a disc and held it. "Then I'll explain while we watch." He inserted it inside the TV and played the recording of Hisoka's match. "Can you see the threads of aura extending from his left hand?" He asked us. "Threads of aura?" Gon asked, squinting.

"Yes. Do you see them?"

"N-Nope."

"I can't see a thing."

"Me neither."

"Same here."

"Are there really threads of aura coming from Hisoka's left hand?" Gon questioned.

"Yes, Hisoka is using a technique that makes his aura difficult to perceive." Wing explained. "It's a high-level application of Zetsu, known as In. When you use In, even the strongest opponent will find it hard to see your aura. The most effective counter to this technique is to focus the aura created by Ren into your eyes, a technique called Gyo. The method Gon-kun used in his fight with Gido might work as well. However, you couldn't take offensive action, so ultimately, you'd throw your life away."

"Right." Gon confirmed.

"My assignment for you three is to practice Ren until you can see through Hisoka's In."

"Eh? Uh, master? What should I do?" Zushi looked at him curiously.

"Zushi, you should already be strong enough to see past his In."

"I should?"

"Show them your Ren."

He looked at us and then back at Wing. "O-Osu!" He got into a stance and then at the direction of Wing, he focused all his aura into his eyes. "Gyo!"

"So, can you see the aura that emanates from Hisoka's body?"

"Yes."

"And how many threads are there?" Wing asked. "Twelve... No, I think it's thirteen." Zushi squinted even more.

"Not quite. But you were close."

When Zushi couldn't do it any longer, he stopped his aura and breathed for air. "I could really see them!"

"You're making excellent progress, Zushi."

"O-Osu... Thank you very much."

"By channeling all your power through Gyo, you achieved a level where you could see through Hisoka's In. But with enough training, you'll be able to use Gyo while fighting. Do you understand? First practice Ren, and master the Ren application known as Gyo. Then you'll discover the true nature of Hisoka's ability. And will you be able to use that same ability? My answer is both yes and no. Regardless of what Hisoka's precise power is, so long as it uses Nen, you can learn it. Nen powers depend on the paticular individual. Each of us possesses different specialties and preferences. Thus, Nen differs for each person."

"If you serious about mastering Nen, you shouldn't merely copy others' abilities. It's important that you first identify your own strengths. You've only just begun to develope. You haven't settled on one form yet. Initially, try to grow as much as you can. That is the purpose of this training. Train hard, play hard, and enjoy life."

"Osu!" The four of us said.

"The final day of Shion-kun's window to fight is June 8th, Killua-kun June 9th, and Gon-kun's is the tenth, correct? I'd like you three to register for your final day. In the meantime, you'll train. You must learn Gyo before it's time for your battle."

"Osu!"

~LATER~

"Your Ren was impressive, Zushi." Gon complimented. "You moved way ahead while I was resting."

"No, I still have a long path before me."

I laughed as the two exchanged words. When I looked up, there they were again. I instinctively held onto Killua's shirt as I hid behind him just enough so they wouldn't see my face. "Hm? What's wrong, Shion?" Killua asked.

"Zero and Taka are here. We're about to pass by them."

He nodded and looked around. When we got past them, I calmed myself and stopped holding onto him.

"It's okay now."

-LATER-

The elevator ride was tense. There was a dark presence waiting for us, and we all knew it. "You guys..." Gon looked at us.

"Osu..."

"We have company."

"I wonder who our fans are... " I commented sarcastically.

When we stepped out of the elevator, there they were. The three people who never seemed to leave us alone. "Well, well, I'm assuming that these guys probably aren't here for autographs after all." I sighed and folded my arms.

"You guys don't know when to quit." Killua remarked. "That's why no one likes you."

"Oh, don't be so harsh." The armless one replied. "Tell me when you're going to fight, because I'd love to be your opponent."

Killua tched and he looked at us. "I guess they specialize in hunting newbies. They want to rack up wins by beating us up."

"We're getting desperate... Because our deadline is nearing." The armless one said. "Come one, let's fight. I'll even demonstrate my power right now."

"I'm fighting on June 10th." Gon blurted.

"Hey, Gon!"

"That won't work. My deadline is May 29th. Fight on that day."

Killua glared irritatedly and continued walking. "Who cares about your deadline, moron?" Then, he turned his head towards us. "Let's go."

"Gon-chan." Armless-dude called out. "You and I will fight. I guarantee it."

"Gon, ignore him." Killua said.

"Man, guys like him make Hisoka look attractive." I commented, shivering at the thought of even liking Hisoka.

~LATER~

"Visualize the energy building in your body. Power gathers in each cell, and grows. Then you force that power out!" The four us us activated our Ren, then stopped. "I'm getting used to this." Gon commented, looking at his hands. "Learning when to shroud the boosted aura with Ten was a little tricky." Killua added. "Yeah... we need to keep training." I looked at Zushi, barely noticing his down expression.

"N-No, that's enough! Learning to rest is part of training. Let's call it a day." Zushi said nervously.

"Really? I can still-"

"No!"

I laughed and collapsed on the floor. "I guess we can continue training tomorrow!" We left and said our goodbyes. As I walked down the hall, Killua stopped me. "Hey, I have something I need to do. Don't get into any trouble Shion."

"Why are you so concerned?" I teased. "It's not like I'm going anywhere else." His serious expression didn't change, and he pulled me into a hug. "I don't want to risk you getting caught... So just take my advice and lie low."

"Don't worry... I will."

"Wait, on second thought, stay with Gon." Killua grabbed me and practically tossed me into his room, closing the door behind him.

"Eeeh?" Gon looked at me and I smiled sheepishly. "Killua's being too cautious..." I commented, getting up. When I was about to leave, Gon stopped me.

"Actually, I agree with Killua on this one. It'd be best for you to stick with me." He insisted. I sighed and pat his head.

"The lot of you two..."

~LATER~

Gon and I were staring out into the city when his phone suddenly rang. "Eh? Who do you think it is?" I wondered, looking at the phone. He shrugged and picked it up. "Hello?"

He listened, then suddenly walked to his door. Opening it, there was a single shoe... Zushi's shoe!

"What the hell does this mean?!" I exclaimed. Gon hung up and looked at me. "We have to follow their instructions..."

~LATER~

The door opened and Killua stepped inside. "Gon? Shion? You guys were here?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Killua-kun. I believe you helped Zushi last night. Thank you." Wing spoke, smiling. I sighed and scratched my head. Well, after some exchange of words, Killua told us he knew Gyo. "Well what do you know, the three of us learned how to use Gyo!" I laughed, patting Killua's shoulders.

"Wait, the two of you learned Gyo?!"

"Yeah, but I couldn't figure out Hisoka's power." Gon said.

"Eh, I knew that it was rubbery and attracted things, but the direction the threads went was kinda tricky." I said.

"Well, Killua-kun, Shion-kun. Since the two of you finished your assignment, I assume you want to fight, yes?"

He looked at us and Gon assured him that he just wanted to fight.

"Actually, I've already chosen my day to fight." Killua said. "May 29th."

"Mine's May 30th." Gon added.

"May 31st." I sighed and looked at the two. "I swear, everything we do that involves dates is always one day after the other."

Wing laughed and put his hands on his hips. "That's fine. I underestimated how fast you could learn. Spend the remaining days practicing Ten and Ren. Be sure you get plenty of practice, rest, and sleep."

"Osu!"

~LATER~

"Killua..." Gon spoke.

"Hm?"

"They must have threatened you. Now I'm mad..."

"Yeah, but my biggest concern was the master, and he agreed."

"But I'm worried they'll use Zushi again."

"Yeah. He's smaller, and not quite as strong with Nen yet." I added.

"It'll be okay." Killua assured us. "You don't need to worry."

~LE NEXT DAY?~

"Killua wins by default!"

I sighed and turned off my TV. Just what did Killua do?


	20. A new ability, a scary ability

"I've got a match set up with someone tomorrow, so now I fight on the same day as you, Killua."

Killua and Gon stopped their sparring and both looked at me. "A fight? With who?" Killua questioned, curious as to who else I spoke to other than them, Wing, and Zushi. "Some guy named Kuro." I answered, sitting down on an armchair.

~FLASHBACK ATTACK~

_"Hey, you."_

_I turned around and looked towards the direction the voice came from. Behind me, there was a creepy looking guy wearing a black cloak. I couldn't see anything else but his pale face._

_"Do you need something?"_

_"Yeah, fight me. That Sadaso is a coward for not fighting, so I want to see how strong you are."_

_"Hm. Okay then, you wanted to, so let's go."_

~FLASHBACK END~

"So this Kuro wanted to see how strong you were for himself?"

"Yeah, he must've thought that Sadaso was scared of the three of us or something." I glared at Killua and he made a cat face. "But Shion, do you think you did enough training?" Gon asked, looking concerned. "Yeah, I should be fine, don't worry about it." I grinned and stood up, stretching my legs and arms. "Now, what part of training did I miss?"

~THE NEXT DAY~

"Okay, Gon-kun is fighting Gido today. Killua-kun will be facing Riehvelt. And Shion-kun will be facing Kuro. Are you three feeling alright?" Wing asked us.

"Yes."

"Gon-kun, this will be your second match with Gido. You shouldn't require much advice. Do you have a plan?"

"Uh-huh. Um, Wing-san, actually..." He made a fishing pole reference with his hands and smiled confidently. "I'm planning to use this."

"I see..."

~LATER ON~

"Okay, this is the long awaited grudge match... Gido versus Gon. In their previous encounter, Gon ended up in the hospital, but what will happen this time? Today, he's carrying a fishing rod. How does he plan to use it? How does he intend to fight? Let's get this contest started!"

"Points and KO system. No time limit! Begin!"

Gon burst forward and was charging at Gido. "Wow! Gon's already taken off!" But, Gido appeared to have saw that coming, so he was already spinning around like a top. Gon stopped in his tracks, and he stared at Gido, thinking. Gido sent out his tops and Gon blocked them with his Ren.

"What are you going to do now, Gon...?" I murmured, crossing my legs.

Gon swung his fishing pole and it appeared to have missed him. Then, in one pull, his had the tile under him flying. He stopped his spinning and in one punch, broke Gido's prosthetic leg.

"The winner is Gon!"

I sighed and looked at Killua, grinning. "I know I've said this so many times before, but did you know that Gon is just absolutely amazing?"

He pat my head and nodded in agreement. "Well, now it's my turn. Make sure you watch my fight carefully, because you'll be amazed by me too."

"I'm sure I will..."

~LATER~

"All right, up next is our main event... Killua versus Riehlvelt! Because Sadaso forfeited the previous match, this will technically be Killua's debut 200s match. What will his strategy be?"

Gon sat next to me and we both smiled at each other.

"Killua will totally kick this guy's ass." I said.

Killua leaped into the air and spun around, landing on his feet behind Riehlvelt. But, Riehlvelt burst forward, away from Killua. Riehlvelt pulled out two handle-like thingies that looked like whips, but had snake heads. "I wonder what Killua will do." I murmured, Gon just grinning in excitement.

One of the snakes bit Killua's arm, and the other bit his other arm. Then, Killua was shrouded in electricity. I jumped, but seeing how calm Gon was, I calmed down as well.

_Killua's fine... he's probably went through worse than this..._

In a twist move, Killua used the whips to fling Riehlvelt into the air. I laughed as Killua caught him, electrocuting him. What an ironic move.

"Riehlvelt has been knocked unconscious. Our winner is Killua!"

I cheered and stood up clapping. Next up was me, and I was feeling pretty damn excited.

~LE FIGHT~

The crowd was cheering and loud, everyone was still riled up by Gon's and Killua's matches. I looked around and sighed, feeling a little nervous. Shaking my head, I knew that I was going to win this match.

"Up next is the last of the trio, Shion! His match is against one of our scarier fighters, Kuro! Shion has a score of 1-0, and Kuro 5-0. Will Kuro's string of wins continue unchanging, or will Shion beat him?!"

The ref started the fight and I immediately pulled out my katana, getting into a stance. Then, out of the blue, I was struck in the shoulder. I looked at the object that hit me and saw a dart. What the...?

Suddenly, my vision blurred. I got dizzy, and the opponent before me began to change.

"I just hit you with my Memory Dart. Now, my Nen Poison that I attached to it will spread and allow me to see your deepest, darkest secrets and memories... Ah, interesting... You're a P-R-I-N-C-E~? Ha ha ha, too bad, because I could care less about that."

He then morphed into someone I knew too well... Someone that was capable of killing me... I backed away, feeling sick and awful and scared. I didn't want to fight anymore, but I had to...

"Uncle... it's you..."

I stood up shakily, but I fell to my knees once more. My uncle began striding towards me.

"Shion, Shion, Shion... Why did you run away like that? I _loved _you, and so did your mother. She died sad and lonely because you let her die alone. What a shame, can you even call yourself her son? Can you even call yourself a _prince_? You abandoned your own country!"

"I didn't! I'm going to come back and destroy you! I'll reveal your real plans and you will be exiled!" I shouted.

My uncle laughed and he pointed at me. "And how will you do that? You're a **weakling**. You can never be strong. And how can you just easily trust the assassin I sent to kill you? I could've hired him again. You're so stupid and naive... You'll never beat me."

My anger bubbled and I punched the ground. "No... No! No! No!"

"You're **_weak_**."

"Shut up!"

"Weak, cowardly, stupid, naive, too emotional, not friend-worthy. You don't deserve to be loved. You deserve to be hated and despised. You say I don't deserve to rule our country, but you're no better..."

"I know that! That's why... That's why...!"

"I, I will make a great emperor. I can get rid of all those poor people and leave a rich and successful country."

I screamed and looked up at him angrily. Then, I stopped. My uncle had knelled down so that he could hover over me, his mouth to my ear.

"Just listen to your uncle and give up... I am the Emperor now."

Silence ate at me, then I looked up. I didn't care anymore. I just wanted him dead... He wanted to see a ruthless Emperor... He got one. I stared into his eyes and felt another power. Another dark, strong power.

"No... You will listen to **_me_**_._"

I stood up and ripped the dart out of my shoulder, drawing blood. The hallucination of my uncle disappeared, and Kuro turned back to normal. The cheering crowd appeared again and I could hear the commentator's voice. Kuro, however, was frightened. Something about me was scaring him... How lovely.

"So... you like to mentally torture your opponents... You picked the wrong guy, **coward**. **_1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8... 9... 10... 11... 12... 13... 14... 15. Emperor's Order: King's Command."_**

Kuro went into a trance, and he knelled on his knees. "What is your command...?"

I grinned a sickly smile. "You are nothing but a coward. You call yourself strong, but you defeat your opponents by manipulating their memories. What a shame. What you did to _me_ is unforgivable, so... **I order you to stay in your spot. DON'T. MOVE.**"

Kuro obeyed and didn't move. Then, I picked up my katana. I raised my arm high into the air before stabbing him repeatedly. My anger was rising, and I wanted to make sure this guy never used his ability EVER again. When I finished, blood was splattered all over me. My anger subsided, and I felt nothing inside. The crowd went wild, and the commentator was freaking out. I calmly walked off stage and shivered, my breathes coming out ragged and uneven. I didn't know how long I was walking, or where I was, I just wanted to sleep. For some reason, all that anger exhausted me.

"Shion! Shion!"

_Gon? _

"Shion! Look over here, stop walking! Shion!"

_Killua...? Killua... Killua!_

I snapped out of my shady trance and turned around to see Gon and Killua running towards me. They both looked scared and concerned for me, but Gon stopped when he saw my clothes.

"Hm? What's up, what happened- " I looked down at my clothes and gasped... I was covered in blood. Lots of blood. I trembled and looked at my hands and thoughts rushed through my head. How- Why- What?! What the Hell happened, what was going on during my fight with Kuro?! Then, I remembered. I fell to my knees and almost cried. I killed someone in cold blood. I killed someone... And their blood was...

"I...I _killed _someone..." I spoke softly and Killua immediately held me tightly.

"It wasn't your fault. He did it to you, he provoked you. All you did was deal with your anger another way."

"What did I do...? I did something... Like a new ability... I... _Ordered _him to stay still."

"We'll ask Wing-san, but first let's get this blood off of you." Gon patted my shoulder and I sighed. This was horrible. I didn't know anything about the ability I used, and what it could do. And what **_I_** could do after mastering it...Then, Killua held my wrist and began to drag me away.

"Gon, I'm going to take Shion, you go find Four-Eyes." He said, and Gon nodded, heading out to find Wing. "W-Wait, where are you taking me?!" I protested, but Killua continued to force me to walk with him. It took a while for me to realize that he was taking me to his room. Then, he closed the door behind him.

"I'm not sure if you'll fit my clothes, but just try them on."

"No way! Let's just wash my clothes and I'll wait for them to dry."

"I've got the clothes I wore from the Hunter's Exam. Put them on."

"You're not listening to me, are you?"

"Put. Them. On."

I stripped off my shitagi and untied my sash, taking off my hakama as well. I took the clothes he handed to me and out on the shorts first. They were a little big on me, but they fit. Then I put on the turtle neck and the T-Shirt.

"Look, I'm your twin!" I commented.

Suddenly, Killua had me pinned to the bed. "I know you're trying to cope with the fact you killed someone, but it's going to be okay. He was a bad person, and he would've got it coming soon anyway." I understood what he meant, but it was still chilling. I sighed and closed my eyes. "I know what you mean, but sti-"

In one quick moment, Killua shut me up with a deep, passionate kiss. Somewhere he managed to slip his tongue in(it tasted like chocolate, obviously). He ran it over my own tongue and every inch of my mouth before licking and biting my lower lip. He then traveled to my neck and his mouth searched for the most sensitive area.

"K-Killua, stop wha- Aah!"

Oh, he found it.

He began to kiss it, biting down. I stopped breathing for a second and finally pushed him off me, the both of us blushing madly and panting.

"What the _Hell _were you thinking?!"

He was still blushing. "I... I don't know... I guess the idea of you being dark... Kinda turned me on."

Then, the both of us finally sensed it. We looked at the door and saw Gon standing there, blushing redder than the both us.


	21. Figured out!

"Oh... hey Gon." Killua said. I looked at him incredulously and sighed, facepalming. "G-Gon... Exactly... What did you witness?"

He was still red and backed away. "N-Not much... A-Anyways, Wing-san says that he's on his way to your room, so..."

"Ah. Okay."

The three of us sat there in awkward silence, until Wing had came up here.

"Shion. Your ability... Exactly what did you do to use it...?"

I thought about it, but I couldn't remember a lot of what had happened. All I remembered was... "My memory is still very hazy... I can only remember ordering him to stand still..."

"Hm... Then was there something you had to do? Like, steps?" Wing asked.

"Uh... yeah, I think... Oh, yeah! I think I was counting... to fifteen! And I said something, like... Emperor's Command or King's Order or some crap like that..."

Wing nodded in understanding, and he looked at me. "Shion-kun, you probably shouldn't fight in another battle for a while. At least until you learn to control that ability... To be honest, your ability is dangerous. If it is based off how you feel, then...you could do very deadly things."

He sighed and shook his head. "The three of you, come to my place."

~LATER~

"Today, we will finally begin to train in Hatsu. Once you master Hatsu, you will have learned the basic Nen principles. After that, you will need to work on developing your individual Nen style."

"Osu!"

"Hatsu is technique by which you control your Nen. It is the culmination of Nen, and there are six distinct categories. Enhancers. Enhancers are able to strengthen objects. Emitters. Emitters can propel their aura. Transmuters. Transmuters can alter their auras' qualities. Conjurers. Conjurers are able to manifest their aura. Manipulators. Manipulators can use their aura to control objects and creatures. Then finally Specialists. Specialists are those with a special aura that doesn't fall within the other five classes. The key is to find the power that suits you."

"The power that suits you...?" Gon murmured.

"Nen is linked to individual ability, with two areas of particular prominence. The first would be your natural potential. The second would be potential refined later in life. Gon-kun, for example, was born with a flexible, springy body. His acute senses were the product of a childhood spent in nature."

"From the moment of birth, your Nen aura falls within one of the six categories. While rare, it is possible for your Nen aura to later change types. If you attempt to learn an ability that does not fit your inclination, you will find it very difficult. This hexagon depicts the relationship among the six categories. The closer a class is to your own, the higher compatibility to learn it. If you are born with an aura of the Enhancer category, you will find Enhancer abilities easiest to learn and master. And the adjacent Transmuter and Emitter classes will also be easy to learn. On the other hand, the Specialist class, which is furthest away, would be difficult. To illustrate, I'll use skills that you've seen your yourselves."

I nodded as Wing explained the Nen types of Hisoka, Gido, and Kastro.

"Well? So you see the importance of understanding your own auras and inclinations?"

"Osu!"

"Given that, is there any way to learn which category your aura falls into?" Killua questioned.

Wing smiled. "There is." He took out a wine glass and filled it with water. Then, he put a leaf on it. "Water Divination, a Shingen-ryu technique for classifying your aura. It's also used in Hatsu training. You place your hands beside the cup, and use Ren. The result will reveal your category." He then showed us an example by doing it himself, making the water rise and overflow.

"If the amount of water increases, this means your an Enhancer. This shows that my aura falls within the Enhancer class. Okay, now it's your turn."

Gon went first, and he made the water overflow.

"Gon's an Enhancer, too?" Killua remarked.

Zushi went second, making the leaf move. "The leaf moved!"

"If the leaf moves, that makes you a Manipulator."

Then, Killua went. Nothing happened. I stifled a laugh, earning a glare from him.

"Nothings happening..."

"Indeed..."

"The leaf isn't moving..." Gon commented, looking into the cup.

"Do I not have any potential?"

"Not at all. Taste the water."

"Taste it?"

The four of us then proceeded to taste it, and I savored the sweet taste.

"It tastes pretty good..." I commented.

"It might be a little sweet..." Killua added in.

"Your right."

"Yes, it's a bit sweet."

"Isn't this just water?" Gon asked, looking at Wing. "It's just water." He confirmed.

"But the taste changed. Because of Killua-kun's aura."

"And that means...?" Killua questioned.

"You are a Transmuter."

"Oh!" Killua grinned.

I then stretched my arms and shook my hands. "Well, I'm last. Pray that I don't do anything stupid with the water, like order it to drown you all." Killua and Gon looked at me, and I laughed. "It was a joke, just a joke!" Then, I proceeded to use Ren. At first, nothing happened, but the the water began to rise. "Ah... does that mean...?" Gon began to ask, but the the leaf suddenly sank into the middle of the cup. Gon, Killua, and Zushi stared in awe as the water itself began to rise out of the cup and shift, the leaf still inside the water. Then, the water formed into the a little ball of liquid.

"W-Whoa! What the heck...?!" I was surprised at what I was doing.

"Yes, Yes. As I thought, you're a Specialist!" Wing confirmed.

"A Specialist?" Killua looked at me and smiled.

I was about to say something when the water suddenly exploded, spraying everywhere. And me? Well, now I was wet. "Well. At least the cup is safe." I remarked.

"Eh, yeah... Well, now you four know how your auras are classified. Use the next four weeks to train hard, so the Water Divination results become more pronounced. Oh, except you Shion. You only need to train your Hatsu." Wing said.

"Osu!"

"Good. But Shion, try to use your ability here."

"Hm? O-Okay..." I closed my eyes and tried to focus, but nothing happened. Wing thought for a bit, then smiled.

"Spar with Killua."

"Eh?!"

I looked at Killua and he looked at me. "Well, I know you can mind read, so I'm not going to go easy on you." He said, backing away. I grinned and backed away as well.

"I've never been much of a fan of fist-fighting, but let's go!"

Killua was immediately behind me, but I already anticipated that. I dodged and sprung back several feet. I wouldn't be able to look into his eyes like this, he was too fast. Killua charged at me and delivered several hits, but I dodged them all. Man, being forced to use raw instinct was hard.

Killua was quick and he managed to hit me many times. As we continued to spar, he made sure that I couldn't see his eyes. Then, it happened. I felt something click inside me. I managed to look into his eyes just once, but I didn't have any dark feelings. The Thought Script activated and... was still here even though we broke eye contact. I could now read his moves, and was dodging them easily.

"Well done, you two may now stop." Wing said.

Killua looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Your eyes. Their strange looking now."

I looked at Wing and he smiled.

"Your pupils have shifted into a kind of kaleidoscope pattern. Maybe this is the ability you used in order to use your other ability. Look into Gon's eyes."

Gon grinned and jumped to me. "Don't order me to do anything stupid, now!"

"Sure."

I mentally counted to fifteen and... nothing happened.

"Nothing's happening... Ah! Wait, Gon, would you kill yourself to save Killua, if he were ever in danger and that kind of sacrifice was to be made?"

"Of course! Killua, and you, are my bestest friends!"

"Then my ability will never work on you, or anyone of you for that matter. I think my ability runs on loyalty. Those who have someone they want to protect, even if it costs them their life, it must mean that my ability can never work on them because they already have someone they love."

"So then, if your an evil bastard without anyone to love, your vulnerable to this ability." Killua murmured.

"Emperor's Order, jerk. It has a name."

"What?! You even forgot it's name, you-!"

"Anyways, now I've figured out most of what it takes to activate Emperor's Order. But, there's something odd about the permanent Thought Script..."

"What do you mean, Shion-kun?" Wing asked me.

I looked at him carefully. "It writes the thoughts of people. The permanent thought script only writes the actions they will do next." Wing pondered on this for a moment, and then looked at me. "I have an idea of what it really is, but it's _your _ability. I think it'd be much funner if you were the one to learn about it."

"Osu!"

So then me, Gon, and Killua left. Wing reminded me to keep practicing my first ability King Mode, and to keep training.


	22. Taken

**This chapter may be a bit short, but if you read, you'll see why!**

-**JUNE 20th**-

"Gon! Killua!"

I gushed in excitement as I ran into the room happily and upbeat. The two looked at me and then at each other.

"What are you so excited about, Shion?" Gon asked.

"I'm finally able activate King Mode without having to be in combat. And I've figured out most of the conditions that Emperor's Order needs!"

"Tell us!" Gon stopped his Water Divination and he waited for me to explain.

"Okay, so yes, my theory was right. It runs on loyalty. And, I can control up to two people at the most... **right now**, at least. Well anyways, after King Mode is activated, I can read your mind even if we break eye contact. But, I can only keep three thought scripts up at the most. Emperor's Order takes fifteen seconds to be ready, so the shape my pupils take is kind of like 'bait'."

Gon and Killua nodded, but then Killua gave me a weird look.

"Uh... and how exactly did you figure this all out?" He questioned. I grinned devilishly and averted my eyes. "Oh, there was some... _Gangs _around here...~"

-TIME SKIP TO WATER DIVINATION TESTS-

"Now, show me what you've accomplished with your training. Killua-kun, you're first."

He nodded and walked over to the table, placed his hands either side of the wine glass, and activated his Ren. A moment of silence passed by, and he smiled. "I'm done."

We all took a taste and I pat his head. "It's... Very sweet."

"Wow, it tastes like honey." Gon remarked.

"Excellent. Zushi, you're up next."

"Osu!" Zushi walked over to the table after Killua and activated his Ren, but appeared to be struggling. The leaf moved just by a little. "This is the best I can manage..."

"That's fine. But it won't be enough to pass." Wing smiled. "You'll need to train some more."

"O-Osu..."

So then Gon was next and he was last to show his improvement. Just few seconds after activating his Ren, the water increased by a lot and cracked the glass!

"Gon, st-stop!" Wing grabbed a towel and immediately began to wipe up the mess.

I whistled as Gon grinned in satisfaction. "Gon, you sassy little guy. Not stopping when the teacher tells you to."

"Gon-kun, Killua-kun. Today is your graduation day."

"Huh?"

"Really?"

"Er mah gawd."

"..."

"Sorry, sorry. Anyways, banzai!"

The three of us fist-bumped and cheered. "Wh-What about me, Master?" Zushi questioned, looking dejected. Wing responded, "You still need to train some more."

"Osu!"

We comforted Zushi and then looked at Wing. "And Gon-kun..." He began. "I have something important to tell you."

"Something important?"

"Gon Freecs-kun, you have passed the Secret Hunter Exam!"

Gon, me, and Killua exchanged glances. "You've passed. Congratulations. And Shion, you were already qualified. Even though you may have not known it, you were still technically using Nen."

I nodded in understanding. "But wait, there was a Secret Hunter Exam?"

"Yes. Gon was able to pass."

"What do you mean?" Gon asked Wing, looking genuinely curious. Wing replied, "You are required to learn Nen, before becoming a Hunter, as professional Hunters are expected to be exceptionally strong. One of your basics tasks as a Hunter will be apprehending evil poachers and criminals. You must be strong enough to fight crime."

Wing continued to explain the Secret Hunter Exam and then he encouraged Killua to take the Hunter's Exam again. Gon had asked about the other examinees, and Wing happily updated us. I was relieved to hear that Chie was doing extremely well, training with Master Yuu, of course.

Wing gave Gon some advice and a caution, then afterwards, we waved good-bye and left.

-TIME-SKIP TO GON AND HISOKA'S FIGHT-

"The tension in the air before the start of this match is almost unreal!" The commentator remarked.

I sighed and waited for Hisoka and Gon to get on stage. Then, the lights went out. I waited in anticipation, but my cell began to buzz(Yeah, I had a cellphone this entire time). Pulling the cell out of my shitagi, I looked at the text sent to me, and recognized the number.

**Hey Shion, this is Chie. How have you been?**

I quickly sent her a text update on my life and put it back in my pocket. The match was already starting.

-THE MIDDLE OF THE MATCH-

Man, things were getting so exciting! Both Hisoka and Gon were strong, and both were delivering blows and dodging blows as fast as they came! I sighed in awe and looked at Killua, grinning. All the while, my cell was buzzing. I had completely forgotten Chie texted me earlier!

I quickly pulled out my cell and looked at the texts she sent. But, one of them caught my eye.

**Shion, come outside of Heaven's Arena. We need to have an important talk, it's urgent.**

I raised an eyebrow and stood up, excusing myself. I also told Killua I was just off to use the restroom, and that I'll be back quickly.

~OUTSIDE~

Following the signal of Chie's cell, I was led to a small alleyway. But, there was no one. I found her cell on the ground and picked it up, wondering what on earth happened. Then, two black cars drove up, blocking both sides. The one in front of me was the one I was focused on.

"What's going on here?" I demanded.

The passenger door opened, and... Zero stepped out, smiling.

"We've come to take you back home, Shion-sama."

**Hello~~ So after this, Chapter 23 is going to be the beginning of my fan-made arc! I'll try not to make it too short or long, and I'll do everything I can to make it as interesting as possible! Basically, it's Killua's turn to help Gon save Shion from _his _own family!**


	23. Return to Hananoshima!

"We've come to take you back... Shion-sama."

Take me back? TAKE ME BACK? I backed away, getting ready to run, but I was suddenly held tightly. I struggled and kicked my legs around, but it did no good. I turned my head to see that it was Taka who was restraining me.

"Damn it! Let me go!" I continued to writhe in his arms, but Taka only held me tighter.

"Shion-sama, we had thought you were kidnapped! We were so worried!" Zero said, tears forming in his eyes. I knew they meant well, but I couldn't go back yet! It was too early! "I'll come back, I swear! Just let me go!" I shouted.

How did they find me out anyways? I thought they left! As if on cue, Zero knelled down and bowed. "I'm sorry, Shion-sama, but this was an order from Renji-sama. You know that those who disobey him are greatly punished." Taka said, speaking for Zero's silence. "You see, when you disappeared, we took a photo of you and had our team of detectives edit the picture to how you would look when you were older. Finally, it payed off when Zero bumped into you back at that horrid place."

What? They-But-I-!

"No way! I had completely changed myself!" I exclaimed.

"Shion-sama. We were with you from the day you were born. You may change everything about yourself, but I will always recognize your face when I see it." Zero replied, still smiling. He stood up and walked to the car, opening it.

"Now, we have to go."

Taka forced me into the car and I knew that I was going to have to go either way. If I didn't, then Zero and Taka would be... I shook my head.

_Sorry... Killua. Gon._

**KILLUA POV**

Where was Shion? What was he doing?

I kept trying to think of places he would be at, but I came up with nothing. "Killua!" I turned around and saw Gon running towards me. But, Shion wasn't with him.

"Gon! Did you find anything?" He sadly shook his head. "No... I couldn't find anything. I don't think he would just leave us like that, though. He was really excited for my match..."

I sighed in irritation. Someone kidnapped him, but who? And why?

"Gon, Whale Island is going to have to wait. We need to find Shion!" I could try calling him again, but I already tried twice, but he never answered. Did he have his cell with him? I began to look for a phone booth to try and call third time. Gon was worriedly looked around the crowd just in case Shion might be somewhere in there.

Dialing his number, I payed the price and called him. I waited... and waited... and wa-

"Hello?"

I almost hung up in surprise. "H-Hello! Shion, are you there?!"

Silence... "Yes. Shion-sama is here with us. But who are you to call his name without honorifics? Do you know who Shion-sama is?"

Shion-sama... This guy called him... "Let me talk with Shion_-sama_... We're friends, so..."

The caller hesitated, but then a voice spoke again, and this time it _was _Shion. "Is it Killua, or Gon?"

"Killua." At least Shion was okay... or at least sounded okay.

"Hey Killua... I'm so sorry... They tricked me into thinking Chie was here. I got caught, and now I'm being taken back to Hananoshima... ."

"Well save you, okay? Gon and I won't let your uncle hurt you. A-And, I, uh... I wanted to remind you that I l-lov- Hold on. Gon wants to speak with you as well." I handed the ohone to him, blushing at the fact I almost said something embarrassing.

**SHION POV**

"Put him on the-"

"SHIIIOOON!"

I cringed and put the cell to my ear again. "G-Gon..."

"Sorry, sorry! But don't worry! We'll save you like we saved Killua, okay? Just you wait! We're making out way there now!"

They shouldn't come here. They can't. If they do, then Uncle will surely... No. I should have more faith in the two. I sighed and ruffled my hair in irritation. "Uh, Shion-sama, may I... uh... ask who those two children speaking were?" I looked at Zero and then smiled. "The incredibly loud one was Gon, and the other was Killua. They're both... Really special... And Killua being a different kind of special person." I blushed and thought about our first kiss. Zero nodded and it was silent for the rest of the trip, because we had already gotten to the front gates of my home, Kouta Castle.

"Shion-sama, would you like to meet with Renji-sama?"

I shook my hands and gave him a nervous look. "N-No! I-I'm a bit sleepy, so I just want to r-rest..."

"Oh... okay." Zero showed me to my bedroom and I sighed in awe. How... big and spacious. The walls were white, and the floors were smooth, orange wood. There was a flat screen T.V(That I would probably never use) with big, soft looking brown couches near the wall to my left, and many bookcases. And, there were pictures of my dad and mother, and even some of me when I was still young. The last picture I took was when I was seven, and I sure looked really happy sitting next to my uncle. My natural black hair was still there, and my eyes had not yet changed color.

_But you're not happy now, are you...?_

I jumped onto the ridiculously large bed and looked up at the ceiling. _It's nighttime, so if Gon and Killua leave now, they should probably reach here by... tomorrow morning._

It was dangerous. They can't come here. It's my UNCLE they're trying to save me from... Before I knew it, I closed my eyes and fell into a soft slumber.

**KILLUA POV**

I watched the sun begin to rise through clouds as morning began to come. Then I looked down at Hananoshima, smiling. It was pretty big for an island, but eh.

"M-Mmm... Killua?"

I looked at Gon and he rubbed his eyes sleepily, yawning. "Are we there yet?"

"Yeah, but the airship hasn't landed." I replied.

~LATER~

"Wow! Hananoshima is so busy! And there are so many foreign scents, I can't even tell what they are! Oh, and maybe there are even new animals I can see!" Gon gushed in excitement and I sighed, looking around for stands with maps.

"Man, how are we going to save Shion?" I murmured. "Hm? We'll just go visit him and politely ask for him back." Gon answered. "Gon, this is probably more complex than you think..." I muttered. "Politely asking for him back isn't going to work. This is this country's _ROYAL_ family we're dealing with. We can't do anything yet, we need to come up with a plan."

He nodded and we both continued on with our discussion.

**SHION POV**

"Your majesty, it's morning, it's time to wake up."

I opened my eyes and sat up, yawning. I looked around, still drowsy. The maid in my room was smiling cheerfully, picking up fallen clothes and books. Wait, what? Oh yeah, I forgot to restrain myself last night. Oops, went on another sleepwalking rampage.

"Breakfast is ready, and afterwards your uncle wishes to see you." With that, the maid bowed and left.

My uncle wished to see me? Oh God. I felt a bit scared, but I was going to be brave. Be brave, Shion, be brave.


	24. Uncle Renji and Aoi

"Is_ Uncle not eating breakfast here, again?"_

_I looked to my butler with empty eyes, and he nodded. "Your majesty, Renji-sama is very busy today. You're going to have to eat alone today as well."_

_I sighed and stirred the porridge before me dully, and I wanted to run away. Every morning was like this, and the loneliness was beginning to eat me from the inside. I would have breakfast alone, play by myself for a while, then get to classes. Then at night, I would study and read before going to bed. _

The memories of the past faded away as I sat down in a chair to have a lonely breakfast. "It'd be so much funner if Gon or Killua were here..." I murmured. I was an only child, and so of course I'd be alone all the time. Sure, all the attention and pampering went to me, but all I ever wanted in this world was the one thing I was about to lose... _friendship_. I looked at the contents before me and let out a breathy chuckle. Eggs... bacon... generic breakfast things... I finished my food and stood up.

"I'm not hungry anymore..."

Sighing, I headed to the library where Uncle was.

**KILLUA POV**

"Come with me to my home then!"

Me and Gon looked at the scarlet-haired girl before us. She didn't look like a native, but she didn't look unfamiliar with Hananoshima either. In fact, when she saw us looking a maps and a list of tours taking place, she kinda just walked up and started asking questions. She looked like our age, and she didn't radiate any blood lust.

Her big, silver eyes sparkled with excitement and I looked at Gon. "No thanks, but we-"

"Yes, please! Me and Killua would like that!"

What? Gon was actually going to- Geez! I shot an incredulous look at him and he smiled as if to day it was going to be okay. "It's alright... She might be able to help us get Shion back."

~LATER~

Well, I definitely agreed with Gon. It just so happened that the girl lived in a forest, a forest _close _to Kouta Castle! But why would...?

"Hey, red-head." I said, turning to her. She pouted and folded her arms. "It's scarlet hair, you dimwit, _scarlet_."

"Yeah, whatever, why would a twelve year old girl like you live in a huge forest by yourself? Who do you think you are, Red Riding Hood?"

She rolled her eyes and washed her hands, getting ready to cook. Her house wasn't big and fancy, but it wasn't run down and ugly either. Kinda in between. After she began boiling a pot of water, she came back and wiped her hands on her apron. "My name is Hiiro, and no, I do not live by myself. I live with my teacher, Shirogane. But since he's a Magical Beast Hunter, he left on a mission and instructed me to stay safe here."

"Magical Beast Hunter?"

"Yeah, I'm planning to become Virus Hunter." She gushed. "I want to discover all the herbs and healing remedy's in this world. Then, I want to discover more! I want to cure many diseases and illnesses."

"That's so cool! You know, I'm a Hunter too!" Gon replied, and she smiled. "Really? No way! Show me proof!" He pulled out his Hunters License and she looked at us in awe. "Are you one, too?"

I flinched and looked away. "I failed..."

"Oh. Well, try again next year!" She was waaaay to damn optimistic. So she and Gon got into a deep conversation and ended up cooking together. I sat down and thought about how we would save Shion, and then I began thinking about him...

Shion was... Strange. He never spoke to me and Gon a lot because he was always in his own world, but he was just as close to me as Gon was. Heck, we're even... I blushed and sighed in irritation. But he could be so damn rude at times, and he was always hesitant. And then... I thought about our kiss. Our first one, then the one at- I blushed even redder.

"Ah, damn it!" I shouted, covering my face in embarrassment.

"Are you okay?" Hiiro came running over and I waved my hands. "Yeah, yeah, I was just thinking about somebody." She raised an eyebrow and left back to the kitchen.

I looked back out the window, wondering what Shion was doing.

**SHION POV**

"Uncle, it's so nice to see you again."

The man with his back faced towards me, head angled downwards reading a book, turned around and faced me. I held my breath and forced a smile, recognizing his neck-length jet-black hair and dazzled blue eyes. He didn't change much, but he looked as if he had gotten older, of course, since he was thirty-one now. He had a gentle look on his face, and he almost appeared... Happy. _A little too happy..._

"Shion, I've missed you! Won't you give your uncle a hug?" He put the book away and opened his arms. I stayed and held my hands. "Don't you think I am a little too old for hugs?" He chuckled and walked to his desk, sitting in his chair. "No one is too old for anything, my boy. But you have matured _a lot_."

I pursed my lips and looked around the library. "Was there anything specific you wanted to tell me? Or shall I leave?"

He chuckled again and looked at me. "So then, how was Heaven's Arena?"

I narrowed my eyes, getting suspicious. "It was... _fun_."

"So then, who were those two boys? The black-haired one and the _familiar _white-haired one?"

"How did you find out about Gon and Killua?" I questioned. My Uncle smiled and replied with, "Security cameras and the net, of course!" I knew it. I shouldn't have gone with Killua and Gon, I was so stupid! The popularity of the three of us must've been posted online, and that was probably the real reason how Uncle found me. Uncle was still smiling, then he stood up. "Oh, I have almost forgotten. Shion, you must meet your adopted cousin!"

_Adopted cousin...? Wait, then that means..._

Uncle pressed a button on his desk and he spoke. "Call Aoi to the library." A few minutes passed by, and the doors opened. In came... Aoi. He looked somewhere around my age, and he had the most straightest face ever.

"Hello, Shion-kun. I'm Aoi, your cousin. Father has told me a lot about you..."

I nodded my head and averted my eyes to Uncle. He actually adopted a kid? I would have assumed he just temporarily rule by himself. Aoi ran his hand through his light blonde hair and I looked into his emerald eyes.

_'So this... Is Shion...?'_

His thoughts stopped there. Then, he smiled. "Shion-kun, do you want to go play something with me?"

I knew it from the first look. Aoi was lonely here too. But, I couldn't trust him, and I walked towards the door. "No, I'll pass. Uncle, please call for Zero and Taka." He nodded, but before he could even press the button, Zero stepped in. "N-No need, Renji-sama... We were already here... Heh heh..."

I raised an eyebrow and stepped out, signaling for the two to follow me. "I want to go for a walk..."

~LATER~

"Shion-sama... Are you... Not happy to be back home?"

I turned my head slightly and looked at Zero for a quick second. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you haven't been... smiling at all. You look more depressed, really... I mean, I'm not saying anything bad about you at all, I just... Uh..." He stopped there and he looked back up at me guiltily. "Shion-sama! I'm sorry we haven't told you this before, but..." His voice went extremely quiet, and Taka looked around tensely. "But Renji-sama is planning to assassinate you...!" I smiled, and sighed with relief that they weren't going to be too hard to deal with.

"Yes, I've known that for a long time now, that's the whole reason I left in the first place... But then, how did _you _two find out...?"

"Well..." Zero turned to Taka and he blushed. Taka spoke, saying "You see, Prince, I like to paint pictures of the forest in the mornings, and Zero likes to watch... And when we were out in the morning one day, I overheard Renji-sama talking to Aoi-sama... Your uncle caught me, and he threatened the both of us..."

"Threatened you? What do you mean? Why..."

"He stated that if we said anything at all, we would be severely punished. We didn't really care, but no one would believe of if we said anything in the first place. So, we were forced to look for you." Zero looked around and back at me. "Shion-sama! We need to get you out of here as fast as possible!"

"I know, but how are we going to do tha-"

All of a sudden, we stopped and turned our heads to our right, the three of us sensing a presence. I didn't have my katana with me, but I activated King Mode. Zero conjured up an electric staff and Taka covered his sword with his sticky blue aura.

"You guys learned Nen?"

"Yes, it was one of the first things we learned." Taka replied, raising his guard.

As the crinkling of leaves and snapping of sticks got louder and louder, two shadowy figures emerged from the forest. But, I immediately stopped Taka and Zero from attacking and deactivated King Mode.

"Gon?! Killua?!"


	25. The Plan

"Gon?! Killua?!"

Gon saw me and he grinned from ear to war. "Shioooon!" He tackled me with a strong hug, but as soon as he wrapped his arms around me, Zero's over-protective side clicked. He immediately pointed his staff at Gon's neck only to trigger _Killua's _protective side, making _him _charge at Zero and point his dangerous nails at his neck. And, the chain continued when Taka directed his katana at the back of Killua's neck.

Killua, Taka, and Zero looked at each other tensely and I smiled awkwardly. "Uh... Heeey, this was all one misunderstanding...! Now everyone put your weapons down...!" They hesitated, and each backed away from each other. Gon let go of me and he shrugged his shoulders, giving me an apologetic stare. "Sorry... I feel like I started something."

"It's okay, Gon. Well, it's nice to see you again, Killua." I smiled at him and he blushed, averting his attention elsewhere. "How did you guys get here so quickly?"

He looked back at me and sighed. "We managed to run into some red-head- "

"-Hiiro. Her name is Hiiro. And her hair isn't red, it's _scarlet._"

Killua rolled his eyes at Gon. "Anyways, we ran into a girl named _Hiiro_ who happened to live somewhere in a forest near your castle. So after she cooked us some food, we managed to scout around the forest and ended up sneaking onto property. Then, we ran into you and your... entourage." He glared daggers at Zero and Taka before turning back to me. I sighed, rubbing my neck. "Eh... Well, now we're reunited."

"Good, now come with me and Killua to Whale Island."

If something was in my mouth, it would have been dramatically spat out. "I can't just leave _now_!"

Gon's face scrunched in confusion and he looked around. "Why not? I mean, your here now, so why not come with us now?"

I looked at Zero and Taka and then back at him. "Because, Zero and Taka are here right now. If I disappear here, then they will be blamed for my running away."

"Then they can come with us!"

"They can't!"

"Why not?!" Gon sighed in frustration and I wished for this to be more simple. "They pled-" Zero stopped me and smiled. "Shion-sama, allow me to explain."

"You see, me and Taka pledged loyalty to the royal family, and the country. When you pledge loyalty as a bodyguard, it is a promise to protect the royal family forever, and to make sure nothing happens. We can't just simply... leave. If we disappear with the Prince, it will be seen as a betrayal to the royal family and the country, and the both of us will be executed."

Gon nodded and sat down. "Then... What do we do?"

"Let's make a plan." Killua offered, the five of us exchanging looks. Then, we fell silent and listened to each others ideas.

~LATER~

It was the middle of the day, and the five of us have been out here for at least two hours now.

"So here's what we have, then: Me and Gon will play as servant boys. Zero will lead us to your room with the excuse to change the video camera film. Then, we will give you a new disguise and sneak you out the window. Taka will drive us out safely and sneak you to the airport and get you out of the country."

I nodded at Killua and we each agreed it was the best plan. But then Killua opened his mouth, a confused look on his face. "Hey Shion, why doesn't any of your citizens know your here?"

"What?"

"No one in town knows you're here. All they know is that there's someone in the castle, but they don't know it's you."

"Oh, that's because Renji-sama hasn't told anyone yet. And, he ordered the servants to keep quiet as well. In fact, they don't even believe you're the real prince, Shion-sama." Zero replied to the both of us.

"Well, I am technically still in disguise."

~LATER, LATER~

"Welcome back home, Shion-sama. How are you?"

"I'm doing fine, you?"

"Better than ever, your highness."

I headed to my room, but in the hallway, ran into Aoi. He looked at me curiously and bowed his head. "H-Hello, Shion-kun..." I bowed my head as well, continuing down the hall. "Shion-kun, wait!"

Turning around, I glanced at Aoi. He blushed and stood straight. "Can we talk in the garden... To, you know... Get to know each other better."

"Sure..." The both of us then made our way to the garden in silence, just waiting for the other to speak. "So then, what kind of things do you do on your free time?" I turned to him and he smiled awkwardly. "Um, well... I'm really into reading, and building train sets... I like trains... He he..."

"Trains?"

"Yeah... I've got books about them, and I build miniature train sets a lot... You?"

"Hm... I've been asked this question before, you know. I don't really have hobbies. But, I do like swords and watching sword fights. Especially katanas, you know. And, I'm a fan of Japanese history..."

Aoi nodded and looked away. "Father has told me lots about you... He said that you were like his older brother in more ways than one..." I laughed awkwardly and looked around. "Well, Aoi-kun, how'd you even meet my Uncle?"

Aoi hesitated, but he replied, "I was in an orphanage... and Father personally came himself. He saw something in me and adopted me. He said that he was lonely in the palace without you..."

I smiled, knowing on the inside that Uncle had must've had a much more diabolical plan in store for Aoi. _Aoi's hiding something from me... He's too nervous right now._

"Well, Aoi, I'm going to head back to my room now. Ple-"

"Shion-kun! Wait, really, I must be getting boring... Let's keep talking!"

I pursed my lips and turned back to him. He was hiding something... but what? "Yes?" Aoi fidgeted with his sleeves before asking, "Tell me about your mother and father." I sat down on a bench near by and sighed. "My father died before I was born, I can tell you that much. And my mother..." I smiled softly thinking about her. "My mother was kind and playful, she always wanted the best for me. Then, she got sick. She was still always chipper, and she read to me a lot."

"A mother... It must be nice to have one."

I looked at him, noticing the slight sadness in his face. "Have you always wanted to know how it was like to have unconditional love?"

"Huh? Uh... Kind of, yeah... Ne, do you watch the news a lot?"

"Oh, not really. I'm not much of a technology person."

"Oh, that's good then..." Aoi sighed in relief. I looked into his eyes, suspicious as to why he wanted to know and man, he's really good at hiding his thoughts. Reading his mind is difficult! "And why do you ask?" I questioned.

"Hm? Oh, it's just that I'm not much of a technology fan, either."

I nodded, turning and waving goodbye. "Well then, I really do have to go. See you at dinner, Aoi-kun."

**KILLUA POV**

"Killua- I mean, _Kuro, _doesn't this seem kind of cool? It's like we're spies!"

I turned to Gon, whom finished changing into his disguise. It was hard to get his hair into the brown wig he had to wear, but eh. I looked in the mirror and looked at my own disguise, sighing. We both looked kind of ridiculous, honestly. I was wearing a black wig and grey eye contacts. My clothes consisted of a white dress-shirt, black unbuttoned vest, and black shorts. Gon wore the same clothes, except his curly wig was brown and he wasn't wearing eye contacts. We stepped out of the bathroom and Zero led us to the servants quarter. No one was around, but he still whispered.

"Okay, so try not to get too much attention onto you. When I need you guys, I'll come for you. For today, just learn about the palace and try to fit in."

He left and I looked at Gon. "So I'm Kuro and you're...?"

"Um, I didn't really think about a codename. What about... Um..."

"Akira, then."

So we both exited the servants quarter and into the castle to do... I don't know, servant-ey things, I guess?

~AT DINNER, IN SHION'S POV~

The table was... rather empty.

I sat at the table by myself, waiting for Uncle and Aoi. It was maybe about fifteen minutes when they both sat down at the table. I bowed my head and Aoi did the same to me. "Hello, Uncle. Aoi-kun."

"Shion, you finally changed out of those clothes." Uncle smiled and I smiled back. "Yes, they were beginning to get old." Yeah, now I was wearing a white, long-sleeved shirt and black shorts.

"So, lots of things have happened around here, Shion." He said, the maids now serving dinner. I perked an eyebrow and sat back. "Like what? Me coming back?"

"No, no, your people don't even know your here yet." He replied. "Wait, they don't even know I'm here?" I sat up again, acting curious as to why they didn't know.

"Yes, because they believe that you're really just someone who looks like the prince, and that we're just questioning you."

I pretended to be surprised and understand the situation. So, the rest of dinner was just generic talking, and the night passed by quickly.

~THE NEXT DAY~

Today was pretty interesting so far.

I ran into Killua and Gon, and they told me that they were having... fun. Then, I went horse riding and had some archery lessons. I impressed my old sword-fighting teacher with my Shinkendo skills and I got familiarized with the forest again, so yeah. Me and Aoi also got to bond a little more too.

And now, I was heading into my bedroom to watch the news. Kinda ironic, really. Well, I _did _want to know what was happening so far, and I couldn't just walk into town with the knowledge that citizens didn't know I was here. Plus, Killua decided that today would be the best day to get me out of here.

So, I sat down on the couch and took the remote, turning it on. But, the TV didn't turn on. I pressed the button again, but this time, a recording of my Uncle came on.

"**Hellooo, Shion.**"

My eyes widened, and I jumped up. "Uncle?!"

"Yes, yes, it's me! So as you can tell, this TV is working as a video camera! And unfortunately for you, it's also a _bomb_."

I ran to the door immediately and tried to open the door, but it was shut tightly. Shit, no wonder why Aoi was acting strange yesterday! He was worried that I'll turn on the TV!

"The exits aren't going to work. You see, the remote works as the trigger of this bomb. The power button on the remote control scans your fingerprint and viola! The TV turns on, activates the bomb, and locks all exits from the outside! Of course, I couldn't do this by myself, I had help from my own little team of people who don't want you as king! You see, you're _very _much like your father, Shion. And I don't like that. Your father wanted peace, and just to let the people of this country to just live life. I, on the other hand, wanted the country to have strong military power, a rich country, and to control the people of this country. But, of course, _you _are in the way. So naturally I have to get rid of you, right? Well, when you ran away, that ruined my plans. And now, you're back! Tell me, how did you find out about my plan?"

I growled, trying to find somewhere to escape. "I'll never tell you, bastard!" I ran to the door again and began banging on it. "Someone! Someone help! HELP! Somebody!"

"Ha ha ha, well, it doesn't matter anyways. I already know. You can read minds ~ You weren't very good at hiding it as a child, you know." I turned to him and swore that I'd get him. "So then, you already answered your own question, now answer mine. What did you adopt Aoi for?!"

"I plan to manipulate the country through him, so if anyone retaliates against my plans, at least my reputation won't be foiled. Well, since your people don't know it's you, this death won't seem suspicious at all, will it? I'll just tell them that you weren't really the prince, and that you were a terrorist trying to sneak into the castle. Well, goodbye... **Forever**."

The TV turned into a 30 second counter, and I held my breath, panicking. I ran around trying to find a safe place to shield myself as time began to run out.

**3... **

**2... **

**1...**

**Sooo, the author here! Hello, hello! Sorry, this chapter is a bit confusing. And yes, there are plot holes, I know. But, as said before, this is my first time actually writing a fan arc, so I'll try my best to make this interesting!**


	26. Blinded

**KILLUA POV**

"What was that?!"

I turned towards the sound of the explosion, seeing all the flames and smoke. We were just outside of the explosion, and thank God we weren't close enough to get hurt. But then, Zero sped through the doors, a panicked expression on his face.

"Killua! Gon! That was Shion-sama's room!"

My eyes widened, and I turned to Gon. He had a look of pure fear, and he sped towards the flames. Me and Zero followed after, the heat and flames almost overwhelming us. When we got to the room, we both saw Gon holding Shion. He was unconscious, injured, and bleeding. I ran over and took Shion into my arms, carrying him in my arms.

"What the hell happened?!" I turned to Zero, and he clearly didn't know either.

"Renji-sama must've done this... He... It has to be him..." Zero looked at Shion, then at me again. "Is he still alive?"

Gon pressed his ear to his chest and his pulse. "Y-Yeah..."

Zero then directed his attention to the balcony and pulled a cell phone out of his coat. He dialed a number and began to talk. "H-Hey, Taka? Yeah, this is Zero. Go to your assigned spot, NOW. ASAP." He hung up and exited the room. "I can't leave now, it'll be suspicious. Please... Please take Shion to a doctor!"

"I... I can't... go to... a hospital..."

I looked at Shion, whom was now just _barely _awake. "Shion! What happened?!"

"Not... hospital... Uncle... Will... Get you..." He passed out again, and we made our way to the balcony, jumping down and into the car waiting for Taka. Taka came running over and he got into the car, starting to drive.

"What the heck happened?! Is Shion-sama okay?!" He began to drive and sped out of the gates of the palace. As we began to make our way away from the palace, I sighed and looked at Taka. "Stop here! Shion can't go to a hospital!"

"Why not?! What happened?!" He turned to the back seat and stopped the car. When he saw Shion, a look of sadness spread across his face. "Shion-sama!"

"Me and Gon know someone pretty close to a doctor, so we're going to take him to her!"

-TIMESKIP-

"So, Shion-sama is going to be okay. He's pretty burned and cut up, but there isn't any broken bones. It'll take at least a week, since he managed to find cover before the explosion. The flames didn't harm him that badly."

I looked at Shion and sighed. How could... Why...

Hiiro looked at me and Gon, and she clearly was confused. "Okay, so explain to me again what happened."

"Shion is the prince. His uncle hates him and wants him dead. So... he must've done something." Hiiro washed her hands and changed aprons. "Gon-kun, come help me with dinner. And Taka-sama, you should return to the palace. Your friend Zero must need some comforting." The three left me alone with Shion, and I walked to Shion's bedside. He was probably suffering...

Without knowing it, I caressed his hand and leaned down, brushing my lips against his and kissing him lightly.

"Shion..."

**SHION POV  
**

_I opened my eyes reluctantly, getting up in confusion. What happened...? __As I proceeded to stand up, I heard someone call my name._

**_Shion..._**

_Turning my head in many directions, I looked for the direction the voice was coming from. "Who's there?!"_

**_Shion... Over here..._**

_I turned around and saw someone with their back faced to me. It was a tall man, but no one I knew. He had long black hair tied into a ponytail, and his voice was calm and gentle. I didn't know why, but... But somehow, I felt as if I knew this man... Then, I spoke._

_"F-Father...?"_

**_I knew you'd recognize me... Shion, don't abandon you're country again... _**

_"Father, what happened...?! What's going on?!"_

_He turned around, and... He had no eyes!_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

I immediately sat up, but my forehead collided with something hard. "OW! What the fuck?!" I rubbed my forehead and looked around, seeing nothing but darkness.

"Shion! Don't just randomly do that, you'll strain your injuries!" Killua?

"Oi, turn on a light or something, geez! Plus, I just had a terrifying nightmare, so...!"

**KILLUA POV**

Turn on a light? Did he just say... turn on a light?

"Gon! Come in here!" I called for him, and he immediately walked in. "What is it?" I pulled him close and leaned towards his ear. "Shion just said 'turn on the lights'!" His eyes widened and he jumped to Shion's side.

"Shion! How many fingers am I holding up?!" He didn't put up any, waiting for Shion to answer.

"I don't know! Five?! I can't see damn it, turn on the lights and maybe I can!"

Then, it hit him. And me. And finally, Gon.

"Oh my God... I'm blind."

**SHION POV**

"I'm blind, I'm blind, I'm blind, I'm blind, I'm blind. What the fu- Why...?! How am I supposed to fight like this?!"

I turned around in whatever direction and searched for something to hold. I found a hand, and held it. "Is this Killua, or Gon?"

"It's mine, Shion." I held Gon's hand tightly and felt so overwhelmed I wanted to pass out again. "Why is this happening to me, I'm frickin' blind!"

"H-Hiiro! Come in here!"

I heard the door open and footsteps. "Yes?" I heard a girl say, and I looked around pointlessly. "Shion is blind!" She made a gasping sound and I heard more footsteps. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you guys! The explosion could've temporarily blinded him, so you'll also have to wait for his eyesight to return."

"Shion-sama, how are you feeling?"

"Like a truck hit me."

"That's fine then."

I leaned back into the bed and sighed. Crisis, how was I going to be able to deal with this? "Oh yeah, Gon, Killua. I'm no leaving Hananoshima this time, not until I defeat Uncle. I just remembered Emperor's Order, so since Uncle isn't truly loyal to anyone, I can use it on him to confess his plans."

"Then we'll stay here with you, as long as you defeat your uncle."

**Hello! This is just a message from me ~ Please read!**

**Okay, so school is about to start where I am, so I may not be able to update as much! Plus the fact that I've been trying to find a way to make Shion's arc work, so yeah! And if this arc is confusing/boring/messy, then I fully apologize, I'm still a big amateur writer! And yes, about Shion, I do think he is OP. So I'll try to give his ability some more clear limits and fix up his character a bit. **

**Oh, and a special thanks to everyone who reviews, because you guys really help and encourage me, and I'm absolutely THANKFUL for your advice and encouragement ~ !**


	27. What happened after

**KILLUA POV**

So, it's been two days. And today, I helped Shion get used to the house as Hiiro and Gon went out to do some grocery shopping. His injuries made it slightly difficult, but Shion insisted that he was going to be fine.

"Killua, it feels so weird to be blind. It's so... blurry."

"I thought you only saw blackness." I wondered, helping him to the couch. "Yeah, but after a while my sight kinda improved. I'm still blind, but at least it's coming back little by little."

I sighed as Shion sat down. "Shion, do you really think... Do you really think that you can pull this off?"

He frowned and turned his head up, following my voice. "What? You think I can't?" I smiled and pat his head. "No, no. I think you can do it... Just don't overwhelm yourself, okay? Gon's enough to deal with, I don't want to have to clean after you as well."

Shion stuck his tongue out and leaned back in the chair. "I feel like jelly. I can't train, I can't fight, I can't even read."

I shrugged and sat down on the couch arm, next to him. Then, Shion opened his mouth, a whisper escaping his lips. "What? I can't hear you." I looked at him and he tensed a bit before speaking.

"I've been thinking about it... I... I want you to break up with me. Leave me, take Gon, and the two of you get out here."

My world froze. He wanted to... break up? For me and Gon to leave him?

"WHY?! Why, Shion, why?!" I immediately stood up and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him a little. "Are you crazy?! We can't just leave you!" Everything he said was hurtful. I didn't want to face it, but it hurt.

"I like you, Killua, I really do... But... If Uncle finds out about you and Gon, then he'll use you two to his advantage..." I held my breath and, in a flurry of anger, balled my fist and punched him.

"OW! What the fuck, Killua?!" He rubbed his cheek, which began to bruise up. "I said my burns were healing, but I never said anything about them not hurting when you punch them!"

"You're an idiot! An idiot! Do you really think that lowly of me and Gon?! Don't you have enough trust and faith in us to believe we can defend ourselves AND you?!" I yelled at him angrily, feeling so offended. "I _love _you, and you act like I can't help you. Well you know what? After this, I'm going to make you apologize a thousand times! Literally!" I blushed a bit after, but it didn't matter.

Shion smiled and sighed. "Even you can be like Gon sometimes... "

I laughed a bit, a little relieved that Shion wasn't mad at me for the punch. He seemed... relieved as well, actually.

**GON POV**

"Do you think stew would be a good dinner, tonight?"

Hiiro looked at the vegetables in the stand and then turned to me. I smiled and nodded. She turned back and bought several ingredients and then continued on. "Hiiro, tell me about yourself." I walked along by her, curious about her past. She thought for a bit, then spoke.

"Well, I prefer not to remember my past. I mean, it's just that I feel like it'd be better if I focused on the future."

"Tell me anyway."

"Okay, okay. So, I guess you can say that I was an accident... A _good _accident. My mom and dad were both sixteen. But, my mom died at childbirth... I did get to be with my dad, though... He was kind, funny, and a wonderful father... And, he was also a Virus Hunter, what I want to be. He left me at home with a nanny a lot, but one day on his one of his missions, he disappeared..." Hiiro held her breath and stopped walking for a bit, but continued. "I was about to be put into an orphanage, but then one of my dad's friends came and took me in. And you can probably guess that I'm talking about my teacher, Shirogane."

She turned to me and smiled gently. My heart beat raced and I blushed. "You have a cute smile, Hiiro-san..."

Her cheeks glowed red and she turned away. "E-Eh?! Let's just continue shopping...!"

"So then, did you dad teach you about a lot of herbs?" I asked. She nodded and we finished buying the ingredients. But as we made our way back to her home, we heard bits and pieces of rumors involving Shion. _I wonder how Shion feels through all this..._

~LATER~

"Shion! What happened to your cheek?!"

I looked at Shion's face, a purplish-blue bruise formed on his cheek. He smiled sheepishly and pointed to what he thought was Killua, whom turned his head away and whistled distractedly. Hiiro rolled her eyes and poked Killua's head.

"If I had known that you'd mistreat Shion-sama, I'd have left Gon-kun with him instead!"

Killua frowned and sighed. "It was nothing big, I just got mad at something he said, that's all." Shion stuck his tongue out again, earning a glare from him. Then, there was knocking at the door. I went to open it, and smiled big.

"Zero-san! Taka-san!"

They both bowed and I let them in.

"Oh my God, Shion-sama!"

"Shion-sama!"

Taka and Zero freaked out, demanding to know who did it. Shion gave us a look warning us not to say anything and looked towards the direction their voices came from. "I'm okay, I'm okay... But I was temporarily blinded."

"BLINDED?! Shion-sama, are you okay?! You didn't bump into anything too hard?!" Zero took his hands and tears formed in his eyes. "I have failed my duty to protect you...!"

"It's not you fault, Zero..! And I already said I was okay!" Shion rolled his eyes and backed up into a table, falling backwards. "O-Ow... My back..."

"Shion-sama!"

"I'm okay!" He snapped and stood up. "Can someone help me to the couch?"

Killua sighed and took his hands, leading him. "Thanks, Killua." He propped a leg on top of his other leg and continued speaking. "Okay, you guys, as soon as my eye sight returns, I'm going to the castle to face my uncle."

"And we'll be here to help you." I stated, grinning. Killua looked at me and walked to my side, leaning on me. "Yeah." Hiiro looked at each of us, and she smiled as well. "I'm not going to be much help, so I can't go. But, you _have _to come visit me when you guys succeed." I nodded and she sighed.

"So then, how do we invade?" Killua asked. Shion raised an eyebrow and stood up. "We don't invade. We just walk inside."


	28. Last words?

**-FIVE DAYS LATER-**

"So you guys know the plan, yes?"

I looked at Killua, Gon, Taka, and Zero. Not too long ago my eye sight returned, and you can probably guess that I was quick on my feet to leave. My burns and injuries healed as well, and I was hellbent on revenge. They nodded and Gon grinned.

"Whatever you need us to do, Shion, we're here!" He cheered.

"Thanks, Gon."

I walked out the door and headed towards the car. Gon and Killua followed after. Zero unlocked the car and opened the door, letting us in before shutting it. Then, he sat in the passenger side. Taka started the car and began to drive down the dirt road as Hiiro waved goodbye. She was worried alright, but she didn't say anything at all today.

As we began to get onto the cement road, Killua turned to me. "Are you sure your ready? If you need some time to train, we could always turn back."

"No. Emperor's Orders is perfect already..." I smiled at him, barely noticing his slight blush.

"Whatever you say."

The afternoon sky began to show, since we left around six. I looked out the window and sighed. All the trees we were passing by blurred and mixed together, my own eyes eating everything up. Ever since my eye sight came back, I've been obsessed with seeing everything with my own eyes. The car trip though, seemed to take forever. I became nervous, and my knees began to shake. But- I'm not going to back down. I'm going to defeat my uncle here and now.

When we made it to the palace gates, I realized that I had been holding in my breath this entire time. I exhaled long and relieved, glad that we were finally here. Taka showed his ID and the gates opened. As we began to pull into the driveway, I turned to Killua and Gon. They both looked at me, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Taka, stop here, please."

He nodded and immediately stopped. I opened the car door and stepped out, the two following after. Taka and Zero stepped out as well. The five of us began to walk down the rest of the way. Each step up the stairs became heavier and heavier, fear and nervousness growing with each step. I gulped when we got to the palace door.

I sighed and opened it. But, as soon as the door opened, I felt the dark and ominous aura. We all stepped inside and looked around. Everything was dark except for the candle lights and partial lights. And, in the middle of the room, was my Uncle.

"Shion! And here I thought I killed you...!"

I frowned and looked around the palace. Everyone was gone. The guards, servants, and even the advisors. "Where did everyone go?"

"I sent them all home. I wanted to make our fight as special as possible!"

I shot him a nasty glare. "How did you find out?"

He chuckled and soon enough, his shadow began to morph and thicken. Then, four gooey humanoid-like things formed from his shadow.

"**Shadow Creatures: Dark Ones!**"

They each charged at us, and we all instinctively defended ourselves. But, strangely enough, none attacked me. They each headed for the others. Killua immediately sliced off the head of one of the Shadow Creatures, but as soon as it's head hit the floor, the neck just stretched back up and reconnected to it's body, thus going back to normal.

"Shit, you can't cut these things?!" Killua tched and he kicked it, unfortunately for the kick to not even effect it.

"My Shadow Creatures can't feel pain, so attacks are only able to slow them down. Plus, my Nen allows me to make these Shadow Creatures out of my shadow, so they can't leave until I make them leave. Unfortunately I can only make up to four of these shadowy soldiers due to them taking my shadow. You see, if I make anymore than this, then I will lose my shadow and die. But I think that four is enough. Shion, follow me. Our battle shall take someplace else."

He smirked and turned around, walking. I narrowed my eyes and pursed my lips as he continued to walk. Turning back to the others and seeing each was busy with their own opponents, I was sure that they could fend off the Shadow Creatures without me. I turned back and followed my uncle, hoping that I was right.

We walked for about five minutes before he stopped in front of a large door. "You know that our battle is going to be life or death, do you not?"

"Tch. I don't plan to kill you, I want you to suffer alive."

"Work on your threats, my boy, you're not in the least bit frightening."

I growled as he opened the doors to the ballroom. "You plan to dance with me or something?" I commented snidely, earning a chuckle. Uncle ignored me and walked inside. I followed him to the middle of the room as he pulled out a sword from his shadow.

"**Shadow Tool: Sword!**"

Whistling, I couldn't help to admire his Nen abilities. "Manipulator?"

"You guessed right! Well, I assume you are curious as to how I found out your plans, yes?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Well, you see, when I sent one of my followers to check for your body, they informed me it wasn't. So, naturally I'd be suspicious of those two idiots I hired to be your body guards. I hid one of my Shadow Creatures in their car and when they parked, I let it out. You see, since my Shadow Creature is connected to me, I can hear everything it hears. When it sneaked inside the home that sheltered you, I heard your little plan!"

I scoffed. "**King Mode, activate!**"

My pupils shifted and I looked my Uncle in the eyes. But, he was smarter than he looked. He shot forward and tried to slash at me, but my King Mode already predicted that. I bent backwards and kicked him in the chin. Sending him flying, I flipped back and landed on my feet. He grinned and rubbed where I kicked him. He ran at me once more and his sword shifted into a dagger. It was hard to dodge each move he made, but I managed to avoid his blade for the most part. He cut my cheek and his dagger grazed my shoulder, but nothing too serious.

We moved quickly, but all I could do was dodge. I was stupid not to bring a katana with me. As I continued to dodge his attacks, in the midst of my dodging he managed to punch me straight in the gut. I felt the crunching blow stun me a bit, but I immediately jumped back several feet. Grinding my teeth, I spit out some blood.

"Tch. You're not half bad."

"I can say the same to you."

This was really difficult. He moved too fast, and I couldn't bait him with my eyes. And since I was weaponless, I couldn't exactly harm him. So, I circled around him, trying to find an opening. He grinned and pointed his blade at me, an idea coming into my head. If I could manage to pull this off, then I would definitely be able to set Emperor's Order on him. But... But if I did this... it would ultimately cost me my life.

I shook my head and ran towards him.

"Too easy!"

When I leaped onto him, Uncle rammed his blade into me. But before the pain got to me, I grabbed his shoulders and held tightly. Blood pooled out of my wound and I groaned, almost letting go. I forced him to look me in the eyes, and started the countdown.

**KILLUA POV**

"These stupid things are in the way!"

I punched the Shadow Creature in the face and threw my leg up to knee it. But as soon as my knees made contact, it disappeared. In fact, all four disappeared. We each exchanged looks, wondering what happened.

"I'm going to go after Shion, to help him!" Gon ran towards the hallway and followed Shion's scent. Me, Taka, and Zero followed after. As we ran down the hall, we passed by his Uncle, who appeared to be in a trance. That must mean Shion succeeded! We ran faster and when Gon opened the doors, my own heart stopped.

"SHION!"

His body was limp, injured, and heavily bleeding. I ran to his side, immediately holding his body in my arms. "Shion, no! Shion! Open your eyes!" I felt for a pulse, hoping he was still alive. But, it was only faint. He opened his eyes and smiled a small smile.

"K-Killua..."

"Go get an ambulance!" I turned to Taka and Zero, the two nodding and racing off to get a phone. Gon ran in front of me, holding Shion's hand.

"Shion! Hang on!"

I took off my t-shirt and long-sleeved shirt, wrapping my long-sleeved shirt around his wound to stop the bleeding. "We're gonna save you!" Shion shook his head sadly, groaning in pain. When I held him again, he seemed to have gotten lighter. His skin was pale and he was losing consciousness.

"Y-You guys... I..."

Tears escaped my eyes, and Shion began to tear up as well. "Don't c-cry... You'll make me cry..."

It was too late. Gon began to sob, and my own tears were coming out faster. Where was the stupid ambulance?!

"Killua! We're going to save Shion, right?! Right?!" Gon looked at me, his eyes begging for a happy answer. But at this rate... "I'm so sorry you guys... But... But I've already lost about f-fifty percent of my blood... If I lose any more, then..." Shion coughed and spit out more blood.

"Shion, hang on! Hang on!" I could hear the sirens. Shion cried softly as his voice was now barely a whisper.

"Killua... Gon... I'm so... s-so happy... to see you both... one... last time..."

"Shion! Stop talking like that! You'll be f-fine!" I shouted, the tears coming uncontrollably. He smiled as he closed his eyes.

_Are these... My last words?_


	29. Awaken

**_Breaking news! Prince Renji, just last night, has come out and started "confessing" his "sins"! What could this mean? And how will this affect our country?_**

_**Stay on toni-**_

I shut off the TV and sighed. What was I going to do...? What _can _I do?

My thoughts wandered off to Shion again, and I felt a dread worse than anything. Damn it, Shion, damn it... Why...? The hotel door opened and Gon stepped inside the room. "Hey, Killua... I went and got us a boat trip Whale Island..."

I turned around and smiled lightly. "Thanks..."

Gon's smile faded and he gazed at me sadly. "You still thinking about him, aren't you?"

I couldn't lie this time. It's been eating me from the inside ever since last night. "Yeah... I wonder when he'll wake up. I mean, I know the doctor said he didn't have any clear answers about his condition, but... still..."

Shion had fallen into a coma. The doctors didn't know when he'll wake up, only that he was going to survive. I could still hear Shion's last words before he closed his eyes...

_I'm so glad to see you guys one last time..._

Of course, it wasn't going to be the last time. I looked out one last time and sighed before leaving with Gon.

**NO ONES POV**

Killua layed in bed, thinking about Shion. He hadn't been able to get him out of his head for a single second. He knew that it wasn't his or Gon's fault that Shion made the choice he made, but he couldn't help but feel guilty somehow. If only he didn't get distracted by those shadow puppets... Then he could've gotten to Shion faster. Shion would have been saved much quicker. He flash-backed to all the moments he had with him, good and bad. The memory he was most fond of though was back in Heaven's arena, when he tucked Shion into bed. He liked watching Shion sleep. Not in a creepy manner.

Killua shook his head in irritation. He needed to stop thinking about that troublemaker. He had Gon to watch out for now, so when Shion wakes up, he'll get to be with him again as well. _If he wakes up..._

_~LATER~_

"Sheesh, you should have let me know you were coming home. I didn't have time to prepare anything."

Killua watched Gon's "mom" carefully. She seemed so cheerful and nagged a lot, but he couldn't help but feel a bit envious. _I would've liked to see Shion's mom too... _He scowled and mentally hit himself for thinking about Shion again.

"It's not a big deal, whatever is fine." Gon said to her, sitting down.

Mito continued bickering as Gon and Killua sneaked grins at each other.

"Oh, that's right..." She turned to them with a stern look. "Take a bath while I make something to eat. And put out your dirty clothes. I'll be doing laundry."

Gon nodded and pronounced, "Okay, but later!"

"Now! You have ten seconds!" She warned. She counted down as Gon hurried to take off his shirt. Then, he proceeded to strip Killua.

The baths were warm and steamy, both relaxing. Gon sighed in relaxation and then he looked at Killua. "You know... It doesn't feel the same. Shion isn't here with us..."

Killua looked back then he just continued playing with bubbles. "Don't worry about him. I'm sure that he wouldn't want us to." Of course, that was a lie. Killua had been worrying since day one... But he just didn't want to admit it. He sighed and blew more bubbles. He thought about Shion again, what he would do if he was in the baths with them.

His face turned red at the thought of Shion seeing him naked. Or even seeing _him _naked! Killua forced his mind away from those thoughts then looked back at Gon.

"You know what? I'm hungry. Let's get out."

~LATER, LATER~

Watching the stars with Gon triggered another memory with Shion. Killua thought back to the Hunter Exam, when he and Shion stuck together in Zevil Island. Those three days alone allowed Shion to get closer with him...

Afterwards, he and Gon spent some 'bromantic' moments with each other. At least Killua had someone to be with. So then, after he and Gon talked about their goals and moms, Gon pondered for a bit.

"Shion told you about his mother, right?" He looked at Killua.

"Yeah, why?" He answered. Gon smiled and looked back up into the stars.

"Shion never told me anything. Sometimes... Sometimes I'm a little envious of the bond you both share." He stared at the stars wistfully. "I mean, I guess it's because we never got to be alone with each other a lot, but still... I want to be as close with him as you are to me."

Killua blushed and averted his eyes. "It's not a matter of not being with him. You just never asked... Shion's kinda weird that way. He only tells what you want to hear. He never speaks about himself. Plus, he looks up to you A LOT. Your his role-model, in a way. He calls you amazing a lot, you know. Always saying in awe, 'Gon is amazing'." Killua chuckled lightly. "Sometimes I wonder if it's really you he's in love with."

Gon smiled and felt a bubbly happiness inside. Shion looked up to him?

They both kept silent for a moment, only waiting for something that wasn't there.

~TIME SKIP. SOMEWHERE LATE AUGUST IN SHION'S POV~

_Ba-bum. Ba-bum. Ba-bum._

_**Darkness. I'm surrounded in darkness. It's... not strange, though. It feels rather warm... And comfortable. Like being under a blanket. Am I dead...? Is... This death? I always imagined something else would happen. It's so quiet... I can even hear my own heart beat. Wait, heart beat? Holy shit, I'm not dea-**  
_

My eyes shot open and I gasped loudly. Looking around, I took attention to all the medical instruments around me. I was lying in a hospital bed, an oxygen mask covering my mouth. I looked to my side and saw a large machine thing. What happened?

Then, at once, the memories came flooding back. I remembered Gon, Killua, Taka, Zero and I went to my home and... They fought something shadowy and I fought my uncle... Then, as we fought, I managed to lock eyes with him and made a command.

I still wasn't able to remember the rest due to fuzziness, but I at least remembered getting stabbed of course. Oh man, Killua and Chie would chew me out for _days_.

As I stared up at the ceiling, I heard footsteps coming in. Turning my head towards the door, I saw a women in a nurse's outfit come in. She appeared surprised to see me awake, then immediately turned around.

"Doctor! Come in, quickly! Shion-sama has woke up!"

Afterwards, I had to go through a stupid press conference TAKING PLACE IN A HOSPITAL ROOM and a meeting with some of our most trusted advisors. Then, despite my orders, Uncle was still to be executed. I guess it's something out of my power...

So instead I appointed Aoi as Hananoshima's new emperor. Zero and Taka would be his personal body guards/advisors, and they would tell him what is best for the citizens. I know those two better than anything else, despite our time apart. They're both extremely loyal, and I'm thankful they were with me. But, during all this, all I wanted to do was reunite with Gon and Killua. And finally, after a few days, I finally got that.

~SOME DAYS LATER IN YORKNEW CITY~

And here I am.

In Yorknew City.

Surrounded by a bunch of little auctions. Oh my.

How was I supposed to find Gon and Killua like this? Much less Leorio and Kurapika? I looked around and admired some of the things for auction, even buying a Japanese fox mask. But, I kept focus and walked around the city. Then, luckily, I caught wind of a rather... _interesting _rumor. There was apparently a boy who kept beating even the "toughest" men in arm wrestles. I asked for directions, and viola, I ended up finding them.

I made my way through the crowd and saw Gon sitting in the chair waiting for someone else to challenge.

Leorio stood next to them, a microphone in his hand. "Okay! One more challenge, and we're going to call it a day!" I stepped forward and smirked.

"I'll go!"

~GON POV~

I looked up wearily. These arm wrestling matches were really getting me nervous. Cheating was never up my alley.

Noticing the boy, I first saw his flaming red hair. Then his red track suit and black shoes. He walked up, payed the price, and sat down in the chair. His face was covered with a fox mask, so I couldn't see his face. But, his scent was... familiar. I couldn't remember where, though...

He put out his right arm and made a small laugh. I put out mine and we both started. I immediately regretted playing the play-weak trick. This boy was almost as strong as me, and I couldn't tell if he was having a hard time or smiling. What was going on?! First, the girl! Now, a boy who could be almost the same age as him! We both held each others hand for a good five minutes until he suddenly stopped.

I brought it down easily, a little irritated. Why did he suddenly do that?

Then, he took off the mask. If it weren't for the table separating us, I would've tackled him then and there.

"Shion!"


	30. Explanations

"Shion!"

I flinched and scooted back. "Calm down child, you're going to put me into another coma!"

He grinned happily and hopped out of his seat. "C'mon Shion! Come back to the hotel with us! You have a _lot _of explaining to do...!" I smiled at him sheepishly and sighed. "Yeah, yeah..."

"You guys can go ahead of me. I've got to wrap this up, and I still have some things to do." Leorio grinned.

We nodded and made our way to the hotel. Well, at least I followed them to the hotel. "So then, what happened while I was KTFO'd?"

"Well, me and Killua went back to Whale Island." Gon turned to Killua and he nodded. "He met Mito-san and we discovered a lot, but we'll explain it to you later when we get to the hotel."

"Yeah, you missed out on the fun." Killua said, looking at me with... angry eyes? Oh man, now I'm terrified. Gon appeared to be happy I was back, but I felt like they were plotting something... I whistled and kicked at the ground. "You know... I- No. Never mind. It's not important." Killua gave me a weird look but he let it go.

"Killua kept talking about you while you were gone. He didn't forget about you _once_." Gon said, smiling.

Killua got extremely flustered and looked at Gon angrily. "G-Gon! I told you not to say anything! Can't you _ever _keep a secret?!" He shrugged and looked at me. "If you two like each other, why would you keep it a secret from him? I mean, is it that embarrassing?" I nodded in agreement.

"It's alright Killua. I don't mind anymore. In fact, I somehow got used to it. In fact, I _loooooooove _you. See?" I smiled at him and his face turned beet-red. Killua covered his mouth and turned away. "How can you say it so easily...?"

"You know Shion, you should say it more often. I mean, I don't think Killua gets the point." Gon turned Killua's head back at me and I puffed out one cheek, blowing out the air. "Nah. I mean, he already knows I love him. Why should I have to say it over and over?"

At this point, Killua was so embarrassed he nearly passed out. "Fuck this! I'm going ahead of you idiots!" He sped up and walked ahead of of us before immediately stopping. He turned back and pointed at me huffily. "Shion! I love you! This is the last time I'll say it as well, okay!" He turned back around and continued walking before stopping again. He turned back once more and shouted, "But I'm not going to stop showing that I like you! Hugs, kisses, and everything!"

He turned back and just began to walk faster.

**~LATER~**

"O-Ow! Stop! I'm sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! G-Gon, stop! Ha ha! Ah ha ha ha!"

I was screaming in pain and laughing at the same time. Killua was sitting on my back, having me in a wrestling hold. He pulled both my legs back and held them there as Gon tickled my feet. I was like this for about five minutes until Leorio walked in on us.

"What on EARTH are you children doing?!" He shouted. Killua looked up and smiled. "We're punishing him."

Leorio raised an eyebrow and Gon stopped tickling me. "C'mon Killua, I think he's sorry now." Killua sighed and let my legs go, getting off my back. I turned onto my back and sighed in relief. "Thank you Leorio!"

He shrugged and sat down on the couch. "So then, what's the deal right now?"

"We were just about to explain to Shion what we were currently doing." Gon said, jumping onto a bed. Killua went to sit next to him as I went to the opposite bed, rubbing the sore spots. "Yes, please explain!" I grumbled.

"Well, we're doing arm wrestling matches. In order to win some diamond, they have to win against Gon in an arm wrestling match. J10,000 to go against him." Leorio explained. I nodded, understanding his plan a little.

"Ooh, so since because Gon is a frickin power machine, you're sure that a lot of people probably won't beat him?" I asked. _There's probably more than that, but I'll let them explain._

Leorio nodded. "Something like that. I'll tell you everything tomorrow, but you guys get some rest now. I'm going to go out for a bit... I haven't seen Kurapika around yet." He stood up and left the hotel room.

Gon yawned and put himself into bed. "He's right. It's pretty late. You'll get everything you need to know tomorrow." A few seconds passed and I looked at Gon's sleeping frame.

"Gon?"

No answer. Damn, he knocks out pretty quickly.

I looked at Killua and he shrugged. "He must be exhausted from tricking people. Oh well." Then I grinned. I jumped out of the bed I was in and made my way to Gon's bed, getting under the covers. "G'Night, Killua!"

Killua laughed and stood up. He went to turn off all the lights before getting in next to me. So it was Gon at the edge, me in the middle, and Killua at the edge.

"Ne, Shion?"

"Hm?"

"I'm... I'm..." Killua stuttered, getting really shy before his voice went really quiet. "_I'm glad __you're back_..." I stared at him blankly before cracking a huge smile. Slinking my arms under Gon's neck and Killua's, I pulled them both closer to me. "I'm glad to be back with you guys... Sleeping by myself is really lonely."

So now that the three of us were practically snuggling together, Killua blushed and closed his eyes. He wrapped his arm around my waist and nuzzled at my neck. "I know, I know. At least you're here with us now. And all that matters at the moment is sleep, so shut you're trap and get knocked out again."

He closed his eyes and so did I.

...

...

...

"Shit. Can't sleep."

"Me neither."

I looked at him and he looked at me. "Well, I've been sleeping for about a month, says the doctor. You?"

He shrugged. "Maybe I ate something, I don't know." We both stared at the ceiling in silence, before I broke it. "So then... Explain to me again this whole Greed Island thing."

"Well, on Whale Island, Mito, his "mom", gave Gon something that Ging left for him. It was some weird little black box, but after we figured out to open it with Nen, we well... opened it with Nen. So then we discovered a memory card for Greed Island and a ring. There was also a recorded message for Gon, but it was erased after we heard it, so... yeah. You missed out on the fun."

I whistled and he continued. "So then after that, we found out that the game was created by his dad. And it is _sooo_ God damn rare! We couldn't find it anywhere. Only a few copies were made. And the only real one is _expensive_! So anyways, apparently the game sucks you in, and you have to really play it. It's like... A game for Hunters."

A game for Hunters? That sounded _really _fun.

"Yeah, but I've never been much of a gamer." I said, thinking out loud. He laughed and closed his eyes again. "You sleepy now?"

"No."

"Too bad, cause I am." Killua immediately went to sleep, literally leaving me in the dark. "Killua! Killua!" I whispered, but it was no use. I closed my eyes and tried counting sheep. Then I tried thinking about happy moments.

"Shit. Still can't sleep."


	31. Worst Fear?

**THIRD-PERSON MOMENT  
**

Killua slept soundly for most of the night. As he began to wake up, he opened his eyes slowly and sat up, yawning and stretching sleepily. When he turned his head, he nearly had a heart attack right then and there.

"You up, Killua?"

Shion's voice was cracked and soft, and he did not look at all healthy. It was like a bus ran over him, then it backed up into him, then ran over him again. His hair was a mess of redness and he had dark circles under his dull blue eyes. He had his jacket off and his white tee was crinkled. He bobbed his head around, as if trying not to pass out then and there. "I am _so _exhausted."

"THEN GO TO SLEEP, IDIOT! Don't just sit there like a live zombie!"

"But that coma was sleep enough..."

"If you don't lay back and close your eyes, I'll _put _you in a frickin coma."

Shion's eyes turned serious and he lied back into the bed, closing his eyes. "I know this might sound cheesy, but I feel like if I go to sleep, I'll never wake up again... And... I don't want to be without you or Gon by my side again."

Killua sighed and ran his hand through his hair, ruffling it. "If you don't wake up, I'll knock you around. Just get some sleep."

~**TIMESKIP**~ (SHION POV)

"Hey, wake up Shion. It's been about two hours now, and Leorio wants you up."

I groaned and opened my eyes reluctantly. "Eeeh, okay, okay..."

I sat up and came face-to-face with Killua, whom poked my head before grinning and jumping off the bed. Gon looked at me and stifled a laugh. "What is it? What's so funny? Am I drooling?" I wiped at my mouth.

"N-No! It's just that, your hair...!"

I sighed. "Yeah, hardy har har. I have bedhead sometimes, okay?" He continued to snicker as I stretched my arms and legs. "So then, whats on our schedules today?"

"Well, I guess Leorio will just explain to us." Killua shrugged, popping a ball of chocolate into his mouth. I yawned and looked around sleepily, recalling what happened. I woke up from a some-month long coma, dealt with some political crap, came here and found the others, stayed up all night, and fell asleep again.

"You know, because of you two, I've never once had a boring day in my life." I chuckled, and leaned back.

"You can thank Gon." Killua said, pointing at him. I chuckled again and slid off the bed, putting my jacket. Then I tried to at least flatten out the parts that stuck out the most on my head. Aaand, it was a total failure when they just shot back up like stubborn ahoges.

"You're going to have to wait for it straighten themselves." Gon commented, smiling stupidly. I rolled my eyes and Leorio finally came out from the bathroom, finished changing.

"Oh, you're up now. Okay, well, try to keep up as I explain, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

He took out a suitcase and set the money they currently had out.

"Okay, so I'm really just basically helping Gon and Killua earn enough Jenny to get the game Greed Island. And so now, we currently have a 3,000,000 diamond and 2,400,000 Jenny in leftover cash. And we also have the 2,750,000 Jenny from the arm wrestling. That gives us a total of around 8,000,000. We need to turn this into at least 9 billion, the minimum opening bid for Greed Island..."

He sighed. "I don't see how we can manage that through legitimate channels."

"I wouldn't call that arm wrestling legitimate." Gon commented nervously. "All the challengers toward the end were half desperate losers trying for revenge." Killua added, putting his arms behind his back.

"That's fine. That was my goal." Leorio said, grinning mischievously.

I yawned, getting a little bored with the topic. And as if on cue, Leorio looked at me. "Shion, if you space out and miss this stuff, I ain't explaining it again." And so I sat up straight and went all ears for what he had to say.

"Okay, so we want as many people as possible to embellish the tale." Leorio started, raising an arm up.

"What do you mean?" Gon questioned. "The arm wrestling was meant as bait." Leorio answered, his grin getting even more devilish.

"Bait?"

"To draw out the moles!"

"Moles? Why do we want moles?" Gon got even more curious, eager to hear where Leorio was getting at. I on the other hand was struggling to stay in reality.

"Pipe down now. I'll explain everything."

"Can you hurry to the point? I feel like I'm about to turn into _Walter Mitty _right now." I commented snappily._  
_

"Yeah, yeah, okay!"

~LATER~

The crowd around us wasn't the largest I've seen, but it was still pretty big. There were lots of people spreading stories and rumors, but none dared to challenge Gon. Was Leorio's plan a plan to get Gon as popular as possible or something? I don't know, but he was happy.

As the people murmured all around us, a particularly large one caught my eye. He pushed through the crowd, donning a black suit and red tie. He didn't look like he wanted to challenge Gon, though... And plus, there was a much shorter guy standing beside him, and he was smirking.

"I already know that my man can't beat your kid." The short dude began. "I was watching yesterday."

"Then, what do you want?" Leorio questioned. "Interested in making some real money?" The short dude asked mischievously. Leorio's brown eyes widened curiously. "Meaning?"

"I know where you can make big bucks instead of the pocket change you're getting here." The short dude remarked, his eyes narrowing. "You can make hundreds... No, thousands of times more."

I wasn't too sure, but I think I heard Leorio chuckle to himself.

~LATER, LATER~

"Are they moles?" Gon asked as we followed the two down an empty alleyway.

"Yeah, looks like we lander a big fish." Leorio whispered back, clearly proud of himself and Gon.

"Huh? Fish? Don't you mean moles?" Gon wondered, looking at him innocently. "Stop talking. It doesn't matter!" Leorio snapped. I sighed and looked at the two before us before turning to Leorio.

"So then, what do you think these "moles"- I mean "fish"- I mean- Aw fuck it. What do you think these "_Mishes_" do for a living?" I asked. Killua was about to suggest an answer, but the two ahead stopped in front of a regular looking door. "Here we are."

We got into an elevator and when it opened, we stepped into the loud room, people roaring with cheers and hoots.

It was arm wrestling galore. Holy Shit.

"Oh! I can feel the bloodlust." Killua commented, grinning.

"The arm wrestling competition here accepts all comers, and it pays out. The spectators bet on each match, and the winner receives ten percent of all bets placed. We're taking billions on each match." The short dude commentated as he watched an arm wrestling match taking place.

I looked at Gon and couldn't help but worry slightly. Would he be happy to be used for _this_? Or would he even like being used at all? Personally, I'd be like, 'Do this shit on your own'!

The short dude brought Gon the ring and I watched, a little pissed. But eh, if he, Killua, and Leorio was fine with it, I should be too... At least a little. _A little_.

Suddenly, the lights turned on. I looked around, wondering what happened. Then bam! Some crazy, almost naked pale The Joker-imitation flips into the ring and sadly scares the shit out of me! Literally. I jumped and blinked several times, wondering if it was just me or that guy had some major problems.

"Sorry, but the arm wrestling match is canceled! We'll be doing some conditional auctioning now!" He announced.

"Why was it cancelled?" Leorio asked, let down. "U-Uh, I don't know." The short dude replied, and he was genuinely confused. I looked back at the creeper and pursed my lips.

"To win, you must play hide-and-seek!" _Hide-and-seek? _"We'll start by passing out flyers! Examine the pictures on the flyer. Those seven people are your targets!"

I looked over the pictures and raised an eyebrow. What on earth was going on here?

"Hey, that girl with the glasses..." Leorio began. "Yep, she arm wrestled me!" Gon confirmed his questions, and I felt my stomach flop. Could this be...?

"In order to win the bid, you must capture and deliver a target to us. For each target brought in, you will receive a nice sum of 2 billion Jenny!"

My eyes widened, and I gasped a bit. Why would they pay so much for these guys..?! Unless... I stopped my thought process and sighed. After listening to the rest of the creepers instructions, I looked at the others. As we walked out of the hideout, that gut-wrenching feeling was still stuck. I only half listened to Killua, but as soon as he spoke about who was the ones crazy enough to steal from the mafia, my worst fears were slightly confirmed.

"The Phantom Troupe!"

After Gon tried to call Kurapika, Leorio praised Kurapika. Saying crap like Kurapika probably already caught like two or three. But I knew that even he said all that, The Phantom Troupe was stronger than we were ever going to anticipate.

"I don't want to burst your bubble or anything, but Kurapika is probably still having a hard time too. We shouldn't underestimate these thieves." I spoke, my voice low and cautious. They each looked at me, then at each other. Killua sensed my nervousness and reached forward to grab my hand.

"Shio-"

"You guys. I... I can't help but feel like... We're about to get into a really big mess."

**Hello! This is HitmanTargetsYou! **

**Okay, so yeah, I'm not going to be able to update as much as before. But I will be on my DeviantART a lot! Check it out, because I draw A LOT of Shion there, and some other HxH fanarts. So after my frickin commercializing, I just also wanted to thank those who continue to encourage me! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Keep reviewing and being awesome readers! **


	32. Auctions, knives, and drama

"Shion, calm down." Killua says, tightening his hold on my hand.

I take in a deep breath of air, but I manage to calm down a little. I wriggle my hand out of his, not noticing the flash of hurt he displayed for a second. "I think I'll be fine... I'll be just fine."

So after the four of us decided to get to a public computer lab for research, me and Killua didn't speak to each other. I had tried to spark a conversation many times, but then he'd just brush it off. I get the feeling he's pissed at me...

~LATER~

"That two billion reward per spider is attractive, but finding them will be impossible."

Killua commented, swiveling around in his wheely chair to face us. I sighed and leaned back. "Well, I've got nothing."

"Hm. Hey, we could ask for concrete information on the Net!" Gon offered. "Like the Troupe's current location! We could offer a large reward!" Leorio shook his head and made an arm gesture. "Hey, hey! We don't have the money for that!"

"It'll be fine!" Gon continued to push, standing up. He then raised his Hunter's license.

"Gon, what exactly are you getting at...?" I said cautiously. He grinned and flipped it in the air, catching it. "You'll see!"

~LATER, LATER~

"That's crazy! You actually have money!"

"Man, you really pawned your Hunter's license?" Killua said, looking up at the latter. "You're insane." I sighed and put my hands behind my head. "Well, now we can actually try Gon's idea... But Gon, dude, that really is insane."

"So then, what should we do?" Gon asked, turning to Leorio. He smiled and straightened up. "Let's start by purchasing a Southernbees catalog!"

So when after we got the catalog, we looked through it. Gon turned the pages excitedly, skimming through it quickly. Then, one page caught his eyes. "Ah! Found it, Greed Island!"

"Seven total copies on sale." Leorio commented. "The minimum starting bid is 8.9 billion. Just as expected." Killua added, and I glanced at Gon. I wonder if he really knew what he was doing...

~LATER, LATER, LATER(I'm sorry for all these time skips, it's not me. Episode 48 takes place in dif places, so bear with me)~

"Now we wait for the information to come in." Leorio said ambitiously. "First we catch one of those spiders and make them tell us where the rest are hiding so that we can bag them all!"

I looked at him incredulously, and put my hands on my hip. "And how do you intend to do that? Those spiders wiped out the _entire _Kurta clan, and here you are saying you can take them on. I mean, I admire your bravery, that wasn't a sarcastic comment by the way, but you can't just get yourself killed. I mean, think dude. You've got too much to live for. We gotta think of a plan!"

Leorio sighed and nodded. "I can't believe a _twelve _year old is giving me a lecture and I'm actually agreeing with it. Well, you're right Shion. So then, wha- Huh? Where's Gon?"

We turned around and noticed that he had stopped by a nearby auction stand. I walked over to him and squatted down, looking at the knife Gon was staring so intently at. Then, I cracked a smile. "Plot twist: Gon murders us all in our sleep." He laughed a little and shook his head. "I would never threaten to kill somebody." I smirked. "Are you sure? 'Cause I'm going to be _sure_ to hold that against you one day." He only smiled and pushed me so I fell on my bottom. Leorio and Killua followed after. Leorio stood behind us and Killua knelled down next to me and looked at the knife. "Oh! That's a Ben's knife."

Gon and I exchanged looks and turned back to Killua curiously.

"A Ben's knife?"

"A Ben's what?"

Killua laughed. "So one of you clearly heard and the other hasn't cleaned his ears out yet. It's a Ben's knife. A hundred years ago, a mass murderer designed it. He was a famous black smith." Gon handed him the knife and he examined it. "This is one of his original works. It's a lesser known piece that a lot of rabid collectors are after. So, you recognized it."

Gon shook his head. "No, I didn't." I raised an eyebrow as Leorio and Killua looked at him in utter surprise. "It happened to catch my eye, so I got curious. So I used Gyo. That's when I noticed a faint aura on it."

"Gyo?" Leorio looked puzzled. Killua turned to him and gave a brief explanation while I used Gyo on the knife.

"Gon, you're right. There _is _a slight aura on this Ben's knife... Could this mean...?" I cocked my head in curiosity. Did this mass-murderer know how to use Nen or something?

Leorio tried to use Gyo on it, but failed. I guess Killua didn't tell him it was a form of Ren.

"Hey! There's another way to earn money!" Killua discovered, getting an idea.

"Yeah, and it's called a career. So basically you find a pla-"

"Shut up, Shion. Anyways, do you remember how four-eyes mentioned that really talented people use Nen without even realizing it themselves?" Gon and Killua both turned to me for a second but then back at each other.

"Four eyes?" Leorio questioned.

"Wing-san. He taught us Nen." Leorio handed him back the knife and Killua started to get excited. "If we search for items with aura on them, like this knife, it's likely some genius made them."

"I get it!" Gon made a huge stupid smile. "We can find hidden gems with no formal appraisal training! Then we can auction the items at a higher price!"

"If you want that knife, write down your price." The stand owner informed us. I looked at him in surprise. "Customers are supposed to write down their own price?" Killua asked. The owner nodded his head and confirmed it. "That's how this market works. You write down what you're willing to pay, and when time expires, the highest bidder wins the item." He then picked up a little rabbit doll and showed us. "Understand? Popular items will see their prices shoot up."

"I get it now." Killua nodded.

So we didn't end up getting the knife, but we did end up coming up with a plan. The four of us stood up and discussed what to do before leaving to find auction items with Nen auras.

"Well, then let's get started!"

"I'll check the online forums." Leorio said, and we each separated. Well, at least Gon and Leorio did. As soon as I turned to walk away, Killua grabbed my wrist and dragged me with him. "H-Hey! Stop it!" I tried to pull away, but Killua only tightened his grip. "What's with you, Killua?!" I scolded as quietly as possible. He didn't answer, but as soon as he pulled me into an empty alleyway, he spoke.

"Do you really love me?"

His voice was soft, and he sounded very pissed. I pursed my lips and balled my fists. "And why are you asking? If I hated you, would I-"

"Just answer yes or no, damn it."

"No! Why are you even asking?!" I demanded, getting tired of this. Killua looked back up at me and I could see the hurt in his eyes, the hurt he had been hiding for a while now. "Because you never act like it."

"What do you mea-" Then it hit me. He was right... How... did I feel about him? I liked him alright, but... Was it romantically...? I flash-backed to all the times we spent together, and all the times we had romantic moments together, yet... Did I even remotely feel in love? Or was it just really-close friendship? "No, Killua, I _do _love you, I really... I really..." Then I thought back to all his attempts at trying to hold my hand, or kissing me. I always felt more uncomfortable than anything else... It hurt me to think about it, but Killua was right. I never once acted in love... I never was the one to kiss, hug, or hold hands...

"Killua... Maybe you're right. It'd... be for the best of us if we split. Maybe what I have been feeling for you isn't love. I'm... I'm so sorry...I just..."

I looked at him sullenly and he smiled sadly. "Yeah... Sure. It was nice dating you, even if you didn't return the emotions... I'm gonna go now. Let's not forget our objective."

With that, he left. I held my breath and pursed my lips, feeling angry with myself. It was as if the world had ended... and it was all my fault.

**So yeah, DUN DUN DUN!**

**Yeah, yeah, I know, Hunter x Hunter isn't all about _drama_, but not all relationships are perfect, so I'm just adding their first problem as a couple. But anyways, thank you to everyone who reviews, faves, or follows, I really appreciate it!**


	33. Deals, deals, deals

"Whoever the bastard making me do all this math is, I'm going to sock him one when I see him"

I muttered in irritation to myself, angry with whoever this 'Zepile' was as I looked at the piece of paper on a really ugly brown flower pot. For one thing, I was in a _terrible _mood, and all I wanted was to kick something(Or someone who's name starts with a 'Z' and ends with an 'e'). Second, math was making my mood even worse. I mean, I'm not as bad as Gon when it comes to numbers, but I hate them just as much as he probably does. And three, Killua is depressed because of me. Today was not a good day so far.

I eventually decided to look for Gon and walked around until I found him looking at a painting that looked more like chicken scratch than anything else. I walked up to him and leaned on his shoulder. "Hey Gon."

He glanced at me then back at the painting. "Hey, did you find anything?" I shook my head. "Nope, the only thing with aura I found was this _really _terrifying flowerpot. And some Zepile dude keeps bidding even higher on it. He's making my brain turn to mush!"

Gon widened his eyes. "So you're seeing this Zepile too?!" I nodded, confirming his question. He pulled out his beetle phone and looked at me. "I'm going to call Killua to see what he thinks about this." I nodded, looking at my feet in guilt. Was he still in a bad mood? Or was he going to hide it from us?

I hoped he would be able to get over this soon, because I didn't really want this to affect our relationship. I would hate for us to be awkward around each other. As Gon talked with Killua, I walked away to sit down on a nearby crate, thinking about what had happened. To imagine what Killua was going through as I began to break up with him, confessing that our love wasn't really love... And now I didn't even want to see him. I wanted to think about this for just a little while longer...

As I sighed, angry with myself, Gon walked up to me. "Killua says to keep bidding until the deadline is up. So, let's go!"

~LATER~

"So ultimately, we won three and lost two."

As we walked, we each carried something in our arms. I was carrying Gon's crappy chicken scratch painting because I lost the flowerpot. As we walked, Gon looked at the both of us. "Did something happen between you two? Shion is acting super gloomy."

I looked up and saw that I had lost speed, since I was behind the two. "It's nothing important. Why?" I asked, picking up speed to catch up with them again. Gon raised an eyebrow. "Because right now you two aren't conversing like you usually do..."

We both exchanged looks. "Um, it really is nothing important Gon, so it's alright really..."

He pouted. "I'm not going to forget about this. As soon as we finish bringing these to the auction house, I'll _make _you both explain what's up."

~LATER~

So the manager(I assume he was the manager) there told us it was too late, so we couldn't auction anything now since the catalog was published. But, he did say we could give the trade market a try. And now? Now we were on our way to some retail shop I guess. We eventually found one and walked inside, me admiring all the antiques. I always liked looking at old Victorian things.

I decided to stay outside and hang out, since I was never a good liar to begin with. I'm way to blunt for that shit. As I looked at the large clock outside, I noticed someone walk by me, looking at the things too. He had short orange-brown hair and long sideburns, his eyebrows really making me want to laugh. He wore a pink coat and white dress shirt, his pants two different shades of blue. He was also kinda tall.

I couldn't figure out if he was just looking at the stuff outside or if he was listening on their conversation, but I had a feeling that I knew him.

Then, suddenly, he walked in. "Wait!"

I looked into the doorway, wondering what was going on. "Put down that statue." Gon, Killua, and the owner turned around in surprise. Killua looked at me and I shrugged, mouthing 'I don't know this guy'. The store owner freaked a little. "Wh-Who are you?!" He demanded. The guy continued to talk, ignoring his question. "Don't let him scam you, kid. He's offering a fair price for the painting and doll, but he's lying about the statue!"

"I-I never lied!" The owner denied. I thought about reading his mind, but decided not to. Let the new guy have his time to shine.

"Really? No collector would pay 80,000 for that wood." He continued his little speech, moving aside to let me walk into the room next to Killua. "You're interested in the contents of that statue!" He pointed accusingly at him, the owner jumping a little. I widened my eyes a bit, wondering what he meant. The stranger walked in towards the counter and stopped. "It's a wooden trove." He explained, looking at us.

"Wooden trove?" Gon and Killua said simultaneously.

"Three hundred years ago, these were a popular way for the wealthy to hide their money!" He said, adding more to his explanation. If it's real, there should be valuables inside."

We gasped in surprise, staring at the owner of the shop. "You planned to steal the contents, while pretending to check it's age!" The guy accused. "I-I would never do that!"

"Wait." A new voice piped up. It sounded low and manly.

The back door opened and a tall, tan-skinned bald guy walked in. "Can you prove that this is a genuine wooden trove?"

"What?" The stranger said in irritation.

"The wood is certainly over three-hundred years old. But that only tells us the materials age. The statue itself can be modern. This technique is known as hoodwinking, boys."

"Technique?" Gon repeated curiously. "He's referring to a counterfeit trying to trick a professional appraiser. But that isn't what I'm doing." He pointed to an out-of-place crack on the statue. "Here's a seam that amateur would never recognize. The seam contains an adhesive used back in that period."

They then went back and forth at each other, denying and pointing out the flaws in each others explanations. They also made a bet, the stranger betting that he would be his slave for the rest of his life if the wooden trove wasn't real. Then, the bald guy grinned. He walked back into the back room, whispering something to the store owner about 'giving up'. I smiled to myself. Sometimes mind-reading wasn't needed.

The stranger opened the trove and the contents spilled out, Gon and Killua staring at the treasures in awe.

~LATER~

"Oh, so _YOU'RE _the one responsible for making me deal with all those numbers!"

I yelled, glaring at the adult. He smiled nervously and almost apologized before I stopped him. "It's okay. You helped my friends, so you're off the hook." I assured, smiling as well.

"Thanks, Zepile-san." Gon said, looking at him. "You guys don't need to thank me. Consider it give-and-take." He replied, making a peace hand-sign. "Twenty percent sounds fair. My cut when you sell the treasure."

Killua frowned. "You're going to rob us?!"

"That's uncalled for. It's my fee for providing advice."

"I don't see a problem." Gon said, turning to Killua. I nodded in agreement.

"Now look here, you two..." He began. "We need to collect as much Jenny as possible. I might be willing to buy him lunch"

"Then I'll settle for that." Zepile dealed. We each looked at him in surprise. Zepile didn't seem to have any problem with Killua's offer, and he seemed like a cool guy, so I relaxed.

We found a nearby lunch place and we ordered our food. When we began to eat, Gon looked at him. "So, Zepile-san... I feel bad, so we'll pay you a fee."

Killua looked at him irritatedly. "There you go again!"

"Nah, it really is okay. In return, just tell me something. What tipped you off to bid those items?" He asked. We stopped eating for a moment and looked at each other. They both sent me the same thoughts. _Should we tell him the truth?_

I nodded. "Well, it beats paying him." Killua said. So, we explained to him about Nen and he listened to everything we said. "I see... Nen aura." He set down the tea cup he had in his hand. "If you're telling the truth, that explains why you bought the statue, not knowing something was hidden inside. So, why do you need moeny so badly?" He questioned.

"We can answer that question, but not for free." Killua answered. I cocked my head. Did we really need to keep it secret that we wanted some video game? "Afterwards, you need to answer our question." Killua dealed.

"Sure, that's fine."

So we ended up asking each other questions and answering each others questions. I sighed and stood up, leaving when Killua questioned about the pot. "Hey, Shion, where are you going?" Gon called out. I waved goodbye. "I'm bored, so I'm leaving. Just call me and I'll meet you there."


	34. No exception

As I walked into the hotel room, I saw Leorio. He was online, checking the forums as he said.

"Hey Leorio."

He looked at me and grinned. "Hey Shion! Where's Gon and Killua?" I pulled up a chair and sat down next to him. "They're chatting with some appraiser named 'Zepile'." I replied, looking at the screen. Suddenly, I noticed something. I pointed to the screen and looked at Leorio is excitement.

"Leorio, I think you've got a tip!"

"What?!"

He opened it up and a video of two people walking appeared. One was a short, petite woman wearing a black-and-purple tracksuit, her hair pink and messy(comb, much?) and the man next to her wore a grey-beige long-sleeved shirt and had long straight black hair. They both looked bored, and **dangerous**. I held my breath.

"We need to call Killua and Gon."

~LATER~

We had just wired the money to the couple who sent a tip, the two immediately getting up and leaving. The spiders, however, appeared to be chatting. I held my breath and pursed my lips. Catching the spiders would be difficult. "How would we catch them?" Leorio asked.

"It's impossible." Killua looked at me and I nodded. "They're way stronger than us."

"Yeah. We aren't strong enough to handle them." Leorio slammed his hands on the table and stared at us both in irritation. "What was that?! We won't know until we try! I understand Shion's point, but why are you saying this now Killua?!"

"Quiet... They'll notice us." Killua replied calmly. Leorio immediately sat down. "But it's still true. I knew it as soon as I saw them." Killua frowned and picked up his drink. "My dad once had a hit on a Troupe member." He then began to sip on the food.

"One of the few times I ever heard him complain. Said the job wasn't worth the price. That's considered the greatest compliment a target can get. That's when he told us to stay away form the Troupe. It's been a few years, so I thought we might stand a chance... "

"They're really that strong?" Leorio questioned.

"Would it help you to picture two Hisokas sitting there?" He said. I thought about it and shivered. That would be terrifying...!

Leorio commented with a nervous voice. "That would definitely be something we can't handle."

"So, why do you think they're here?" Killua asked. "Aren't they on a date?" Leorio said. I felt like slapping him with a newspaper. "Where the fuck did you get that stupid idea?" I sat up and stretched my legs. "They seem aware of their surroundings. But, they aren't afraid. They're waiting... For us."

Killua smiled softly. "Precisely." Was that sadness in his voice?

Suddenly, the atmosphere changed. A chill went down my back, and I looked out the window. "You guys... "

"I've got a really bad feeling..." Gon finished. "Did they notice us?" Leorio asked. "It's okay. They haven't noticed us yet." Killua assured us. "Are you sure? Besides, I can't use Zetsu like you guys to mask my presence."

"If we used Zetsu, that would attract their attention." Killua said. "They aren't trying to sense Nen. They're trying to see if there's anyone in this area who looks or acts suspicious. So, you'd better wipe those looks off your faces. Act normal."

They tried to attempt a smile, but instead made faces of horror. "Well, that's going to haunt my dreams forever." I commented. "Sorry, that was a bad idea." Killua looked at them hopelessly and I smiled. "Nah. It's funny to look at."

~LATER~

_Gon, Shion, and I will tail them. We absolutely cannot let them spot us. We'll use Zetsu. Gon, Shion, I need you two to make me two promises. If they see us, we give up immediately and escape. If I judge further pursuit is impossible for any other reason, we give up. Got it?_

I remembered Killua's words like they were written on the back of my hand. The signal was a phone call. If they split up, we follow the woman. It didn't help to know both Gon and Killua tailed someone before, but I never did. I mean, Master Yuu taught me how and my Zetsu was damn good, but I feel like I'm about to go on a suicide mission. Of course, I am.

So, we each followed them in separate directions. This was making me more nervous than ever. First, my uncle. Now, not even a month after waking from my coma, I'm putting my life on the line again. I should get a trophy for this shit I go through. Oh well, I'm doing this for Gon, so it should be alright.

The spiders eventually led us to a deserted place of ruins, abandoned buildings everywhere. I couldn't help but feel like this was a trap. I hid inside the same room as Gon, since I was closer to him. We both stared out the window, anticipating what would happen. Gon decided to call Kilua and I could faintly hear his voice on the other line.

"Well, Killua?"

"They're waiting for someone or trying to lure us out. One or the other." He replied. "Do they know we're following them?" Gon asked, looking at me.

"Right now it's fifty-fifty. But they don't know our location. They want to draw us out because they don't know our location. They're inviting us to show ourselves."

"What do we do?"

"They may be waiting for someone else. Hold your position and wait." Suddenly, we heard a ringing sound. Gon and I looked up at each other, our eyes widening.

"Gon, I'm hanging up now. Pay close attention. If they give any kind of reaction, we'll run for it! Escape as soon as I ring the phone! Got it?"

Sweat began to slip down my cheeks, and the gut-wrenching feeling in my system made me nervous. Some minutes passed by, and I focused so hard on the male, I almost couldn't remember how to breathe. I didn't want to stay here anymore. I really didn't. Suddenly, the male turned towards us. In a heartbeat, me and Gon darted away towards the door, but there was already a women there... waiting.

She walked towards us. "Boys, might you know who the chain-user is?"

Chain-user? Who the hell is that?

The other woman made her way towards us. "A Nen user who uses chains to fight." I frowned, backing away towards the wall. "Well, no shit. I think I could've guessed that on my own."

"He has a sharp tongue." The blonde woman remarked. Pinky's face only got darker. "And he better keep it in his mouth or it gets cut off. Anyways, we're looking for him. He asked you to follow us, right?"

"I don't know who that is." Gon replied curtly. "We were following you for our own reasons."

The woman both exchanged glances. "Well, if they're lying, they're really good at it." The blonde said. "I can check." Gon tried to move, but Pinky was holding him in place in a flash. I tsked, looking at the other woman. She just finished answering her phone, looking at us. "Your friend surrendered." When she grabbed me, I looked into her eyes. We both made expressions of utter shock.

"You can-"

"-Read minds?!"

We both stared at each other for a moment, Pinky looking at us. "What is it, Pakunoda?" She pointed at me, and spoke. "This boy can read minds. Danchou might like him."

~LATER~

We were led to their base, and we were introduced to the gang. Pakunoda spread her arm out, as if welcoming us to a dark party. "Welcome to our base."

I observed everyone there, holding my breath. Seven in front of us... Four surrounding us. Holy crap, this was definitely suicide. As I looked around, I noticed Killua widen his eyes. I turned to where he was looking at and gasped lightly. Among the spiders was... Hisoka!

Looking into his eyes, I could see his thought. _Play dumb!_

Killua stepped forward, trying to play it cool. Then, of course, Gon saw him as well and gasped loudly. "What is it? You know someone here?" The tall black-haired male asked. "A-Ah! No!" Killua covered. "Oh! It's that girl!" He pointed at some girl wearing glasses, reading her book.

"What? You know them, Shizuku?"

She looked up and shook her head. "Nope, never seen them before." Suddenly, the black-haired male wearing a turtleneck coat/dress/whatever the fuck that was remembered something. "Oh, I remember... It's the arm wrestling kid."

"Who was that?" Shizuku asked. The big guy sitting below her pointed at us. "Two days ago you lost to that kid at arm wrestling."

"Lost? I lost?" She wondered curiously. "That's a lie. I would never lose to a kid."

"Well, you were using your right hand..." He added. "Why? I'm left-handed." She countered. The previous guy sighed. "Don't bother. Once Shizuku's forgotten something, she'll never remember."

The big guy gave up. "Never mind. I was mistaken." She went back to reading. "Thought so..."

~TIME SKIP~

So, Nobunaga won against Gon in numerous arm wrestling matches except for one. And then, he and this Feitan flipped a coin deciding whether to torture him or not. Then, after confirming we didn't know the chain-user, they almost let us go. Well, at least Gon and Killua. But then Nobunaga decided to keep Killua and Gon as well. As a result? We were being kept here in one of the old buildings by The Phantom Troupe. Gon and Killua were Nobunaga's responsibility, but I was no exception. I was to be kept here, because I would be 'most useful' to their precious Danchou.

"_The boy can read minds, and control them. It appears that the ability has conditions, though... But it doesn't matter. If he is useful to Danchou, and we can figure our more about his ability and how to develop it, he will be one of our strongest members."_

I growled under my breath. I was tied up, and placed against a corner near Nobunaga. Oh yeah, and the bastards also blind-folded me so I couldn't read Gon or Killua's minds. How dare they just assume they can force me into their pathetic gang!

"You know, I'm never going to ever listen to you bastards, right?"

"Consider yourself as a gift to Danchou." Nobunaga replied.

"Fuck Danchou. I don't want to be part of your gang."

"You'll learn to like being a Troupe member. It's a huge honor."

"Shion, just don't say anything. You'll be punished severely if you badmouth their boss again." Killua's voice was full of worry, and I could tell he was just begging me to shut my mouth. I reluctantly shut up, pissed off at the Troupe. How the fuck were we going to get out of this one...?

**HA HA HA**

**Shion is caught with Killua and Gon, and he is no exception. So then, will he be able to escape with our two heroes, or will he fail and be forced to become a Troupe member? Wait and find out!**

**And this chapter is a bit messy, so when I find the time, I'll edit it.**


	35. PLEASE READ MY PRETTIES

**Hey, just an author's note, so don't get excited!**

**But you HAVE to read this, because it's incredibly important. I'm not going to be able to update for a while, because **

**1) Working on a college AU, so this needs to get a chapter one**

**2) I need to work on some pictures for school**

**3) I'm getting a lot of school work, so it's pretty stressful. **

**4) I'm only able to update on weekends, and this weekend is the busiest weekend. **

**But thank you to everyone who reviewed, faved, or followed! It makes me so happy to know that you guys love my story! And relax, Shion and Killua _will _get back together, but in their own ways. I mean, I'm not _that _evil, right?(Shion: If you're going on a hiatus _AGAIN_, you are) Shut up, Shion. Anyways, yes, so I'm going on a second hiatus. No, I'm not turning into Togashi, but this time, it really calls for it. Plus, it's only probably going to be a week-long hiatus, so you guys are patient, right? Anyways, thank you to anyone who read this!**


	36. Their escape, his Misfortune

**So, every once in a while, I'm going to be able to update! Isn't that great? When I take a break I will at least try to update!**

It was silent. Well, at least it could've been. I could hear Gon seething in anger in the back ground, and I could just faintly hear the candle's little flames crackle. As I waited for time to just pass by, I heard a shuffling noise.

"YOU'RE WRONG!"

I'll admit, the sudden shout from Killua kind of scared me. But, his aura freaked me out even more. It was cold... and hostile. _Very _hostile. I turned towards the direction of Nen and called out, "Killua, are you okay? Because randomly shouting isn't going to help us." I got no reply, as always. I heard more shuffling and Nobunaga pulling out his katana from his sheathe.

"Scary..." He taunted. "You look like you want to kill me."

He activated his Nen aura and I could sense it too was violent, but calmer. "Let me warn you first. Step into range, and I'll cut you down." I began to panic a little, fearing that Killua was going to try to fight him. "K-Killua, whatever you're doing, stop!" I shouted. But, again, I was ignored. Killua's footsteps got closer and closer, and I felt useless.

"K-Killua-" But, as soon as I called his name, he stopped. His footsteps got faint again, and I knew he returned back to Gon as soon as I heard a loud crack. Killua punched the wall, didn't he?

Some time passed by again, but then Gon broke the silence. "Is Leorio okay?"

"What?" I looked up towards the direction of his voice. "I'm just talking. I hope he was able to find Zephile-san." Gon spoke. But then, he paused, asking Killua, "Killua? Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." Killua's voice was calm, but shaky. I knew he wasn't okay. "Hey... Zephile-san taught us welding, exposing... What else was there?" Gon asked, probably directing it towards Killua.

"I forgot."

"Side-stomping, maybe?" Gon suggested. "I don't think that was it... "

"Gon... I'll act as a decoy." Killua suddenly interrupted. "Use that chance to take Shion and escape." I heard Gon make a sound of disapproval. "What are you talking about?" He demanded. "Seriously. Forget it. You're smart enough to know how much stronger I am. There won't be any chances." I heard Nobunaga speak as well. I knew what Killua was thinking, and it pissed me off.

"Killua damn it, stop this nonsense! Don't talk about this like it's the only way!" I shouted. "SHUT UP!" Killua shouted. I flinched, a little hurt by his comment. "I won't know until I try!" Anger bubbled up inside me. And I really, really wanted to punch him. Killua is way to hard to deal with! How did I ever even FALL for this jerk who didn't know anything about SELF-PRESERVATION!

"Killua, what are you thinking?!" Gon exclaimed. "I'll stop his shodachi, even if it kills me. Use that chance to run away, both you and Shion!"

"THAT IS FUCKING _IT_! GON, PUNCH KILLUA FOR ME!"

_Smack!_

"THANK YOU!"

Killua growled and shouted, "What was that for?!" Gon, probably equally as angry, hollered back, "Don't be so selfish! Don't talk about dying like it's nothing!"

"What?! You did the same thing earlier!"

"I'm allowed to do it, but you and Shion aren't!"

I felt a metal pot fall onto my head. What the heck did he just say? Nobunaga laughed, "You can't use logic against an enhancer... " Killua grred and shouted to Gon, "We can't escape unless we're prepared to die, stupid! You have no idea what I was thinking! Who's the selfish one?!"

"Yes! I've no idea... Because I'm stupid!"

Nobunaga laughed even more. "You kids are hilarious! Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you or anything. Just behave yourselves. I know you're serious. Don't throw your lives away. Wait until the boss comes back. If he won't give his approval, you can leave." Suddenly, his voice went low. "But if you try to escape, I'll kill you. Don't make me draw my sword. If I pull it out... you'll die."

It was a tense moment of silence again, but only for a second. Gon suddenly gasped and said real loudly, "Ah! I remember now! It was side-stepping! Welding, exposing, and then it was side-stepping!"

Then, at the same time, an idea popped into my head. Gon and Killua could just easily break through the walls! I would have a better chance of survival, but they won't, so I prayed that they knew this and leave. If Danchou liked my abilities... I become a spider. If he didn't... I'll leave. And I had a feeling the first option was the most accurate.

"Do you remember?" Gon said.

"Yeah, sure I do!" Killua replied back. "See? How could we forger something so simple?! Now that we've figured that out... " Gon began.

"Let's go!" Killua finished. I felt their burst of Nen and prayed they leave me. Then, in just a short moment, I felt Killua's eyes on me. I didn't know how I knew, it was just a feeling. I shook my head, indicating not to try to make a grab for me. Then, I mouthed, _Leave without me!_

"Huh? Are you serious?" Nobunaga said. I heard him stand up and draw out his sword. "You're gonna die! I'm not skilled or merciful enough to control my strength." When I heard the two burst forward, I held my breath. Then, the walls either side me cracked and I smiled.

_They've escaped... Thank goodness...  
_

"Oh, my friends ran off. Better go after them!" I called out leaning back against the wall. Nobunaga tched and ran out the room. Now, I really was alone. If I became a spider... What would Kurapika do? Would he kill me too? I sighed and wriggled around, trying to loosen my ropes.

**KILLUA POV**

"Stupid!"

I said tauntingly, as me and Gon escaped. "Man, and I really wanted to beat him up too!" Gon admitted. I turned to him as we ran, saying, "That was impossible. He'd have fought you off and killed you."

"One hundred percent guaranteed?"

We both jumped onto the fence before landing on our feet. "We don't have a chance only knowing the basics of Nen." I said, looking at my black haired friend. Gon laughed, looking happy. "What is it?" I asked. "You finally sound like yourself again!" Gon cheerfully replied. "It's my job to say crazy stuff. Your job and Shion's is to stay cool and stop me!" Gon patted my back before getting ready to run again. "So I'm counting on you bo-"

Then he stopped, as if realizing something horrible. "Where's Shion? I don't smell him near us..."

I knew that this would happen. "Gon, Shion has a better chance of survival in there. That samurai freak can't hurt him, he's too important to them. So, we _have _to leave him... That's what he wanted." Gon pursed his lips and frowned. "But-"

"-But nothing. Now c'mon!"

Gon looked angry, but he nodded. The two of us began to run again, Gon asking, "Well? What do we do now?" I sighed and looked at him. "That depends on what you want to do."

"I want to beat them up!"

"Well, that matches our original objective. But, we'll have to improve our Nen for that. Nen has the potential to give us power we' need to stand a chance. And the fastest way to learn more would be to ask Kurapika."

"Huh? Why?"

We neared the city and I began to relax a little. "Because Kurapika is the chain-user who defeated one of them."

"Huh?!" Gon looked surprised. "You didn't realize it?" I asked, looking at him. "Is that really true?" Gon questioned. "I'm pretty confident. If it's true, we have a chance. Because we learned Nen around the same time Kurapika did. We need to learn the techniques to appropriate our abilities. And most importantly, we need the strength to fight the Troupe."

_And save Shion..._


	37. I'll love you once more

_What do I do now?_

Nobunaga left me in their hideout, still tied up and still blindfolded. I had no chance of escape, because honestly, ropes and blindfolds are my kryptonite right now. I hoped that Gon and Killua managed to escape, and aren't dead. No, they _did _escape. And right now, they're probably okay.

It was completely silent, except for my breathing. As I willed myself to sleep, I suddenly heard footsteps. What the...? I immediately sat up and listened closely. Then, I began to hear voices.

"Oh, the Troupe isn't here?" A high-male voice said, and I heard the footsteps get closer. "They're at the auction, most likely." A masculine-female voice guessed, but it didn't sound like that Kyung lady...

"Who's there?" I called out, standing up.

"Oh! Someone's here!" I heard the footsteps get louder and louder until they stopped in front of me. "Oh, it's a boy! All tied up! Geez, do these guys have fetishes or something?" The male voice said, and the blindfold came off. I blinked multiple times and looked in front of me, seeing the male. He had shoulder-length milky hair, part of his bangs swayed to his right. His eyes were a stunning golden, and it almost seemed like the sun. The femal- No, male- I mean, the fe/male next to him looked almost like him, but different.

"Um, I'm sorry, but..."

"I'm a girl."

Well, question answered. Her hair was short and spiky, and it was also white like the others hair. She didn't have the body build of a girl though, it looked more guy-ish. But, what caught my attention was her peculiar eyes... They were even stranger than mine. Her right eye was a sapphire blue while her left was the same sun-golden. I almost forgot I was tied up and in the base of one of the most notorious gangs in the world because I was so busy observing them.

"Um, are you guys Troupe members?" I asked, confused. The male laughed and untied me, letting me go.

"No, I'm just the guy who gives them information. Not that I want to, but they pay me... I need it to... Help someone I know." The male answered sadly, and I noted the slight flinch in the female's eyes. The male looked back up at me, pointing at the girl with his thumb. "She's my fraternal twin, Yukio. I'm Akihiko. And you must be Shion, right?"

I nodded cautiously, stepping backwards. "How did... You know my name?" He smiled. "I have a friend who said she met the most strangest boy. His eyes were the most prominent feature on him, they stand out by a mile. And, well, I guessed it by your eyes."

Note to self, wear sunglasses from now on. I looked around and then back at them. "Well then, Akihiko, are you going to... Um, keep me here?"

Akihiko stifled a laugh. "Of course not! Knowing the Troupe members, they probably kidnapped you against your will. So, I'm letting you go." I cocked my head in confusion. "Really? That easily?" He smiled. "Just go. They won't know I let you go. Besides, in my opinion, a twelve year old shouldn't be getting himself into their world. You're not ready for that darkness yet..." I nodded and ran off quickly, looking to find Killua and Gon. As I got farther away, I couldn't hear their last sentences.

"Akihiko, you realize that if Chrollo finds out about this, you will be punished, right?"

"Mm-hm. But... Even so... I meant what I said. He's too young... I don't want what happened to us happen to him, you know..."

-TIME SKIP-

I ran back to the hotel as fast as I could, coming into the hotel room.

"GON! KILLUA!"

I panted, looking around, but instead saw Leorio and Zephile sitting on the floor having a small party. "Oh... Hey you two. Did Gon and Killua come up?" Leorio shook his head. But then, he raised a cup to me, "Shion, kiddo! Come join us! You can wait here with me and Zephile!" I shook my head and sighed. "No... I'm just going to get some rest. Today was a _really _busy day, and all I want is some sleep..."

He nodded and I passed by them, immediately passing out on the couch.

~LATER~

"EH?! SHION?!"

I stirred, waking up almost immediately. I sat up and yawned, stretching at the same time. Looking around, I saw Gon and Killua leaning over me, obviously surprised I made it here.

"Oh... Hey you two." I smiled sleepily and Killua blushed, looking away before turning back to me. "How did you escape so quickly?" I thought back and answered, "Someone working for them let me go."

"Someone working for them?" Gon repeated, but he let it go. They both sat down in front of me and told me what happened.

"Hey, did you know that Chie is working with Kurapika?" Killua said, and I smiled, grinning wide. "Really?! Can I talk to her?! I really, really want to see her again!" I excitement was turned down though, they didn't know her number.

"But, you should've heard Kurapika when he found out you were going to be turned into a Troupe member! He was screaming things like, 'Curse them' and 'THEY BETTER NOT TOUCH HIM' or 'SHION IS NOT GOING TO BECOME A TROUPE MEMBER UNDER MY WATCH'!" Gon said, making me warm up a bit. As we talked and talked, Gon suddenly remembered.

"Oh yeah, what happened between you two? You guys said you'll explain later!"

I looked at Killua and he looked at me. We both sighed and I spoke, "We... Broke up."

Gon stared at us blankly before opening his mouth. "Why?"

"Because he didn't return the feelings." Killua answered bitterly. Gon stood up angrily and looked at the two of us. "And explain HOW he didn't return the emotions?" Killua sighed. "He admitted it himself. He never felt anything towards me whenever we were together..." Gon sighed and he punched his and my head.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Me and Killua snapped.

Gon frowned and folded his arms. "I didn't think I would have to be the one to say smart things this time, but I guess I have to. Killua, Shion does love you, I guarantee it. You two just don't know anything about each other, or yourselves."

"I know things about Shion! I know a lot about him actually, so who are you to-" Killua began to retort back when Gon shut him up with one look. "Killua, what is Shion's favorite color?" Killua froze, and he thought for a bit. "Um... Red?" Gon turned to me and I shook my head. "I don't have a favorite color." Then, he spoke to me this time, "And Shion, how do you feel when you're alone with Killua, and he's not being touchy with you?" I remembered back at the Hunter's Exam when he and I spent almost a week together. We looked under the stars and, I knew I had my answer. "Like it's only me and him in this world..."

Killua blushed as he and I made eye contact. **_Shion... I still... I still love you, you know..._**

"See, you still love him. And Killua, you just don't know how to treat Shion, because Shion, you never express yourself. Start telling him what makes you comfortable, and what makes you happy." Gon smiled and I wanted to thank him. Looking back at Killua, my lips curved into a soft smile. "So how about it? You want to get back together?"

Killua's eyes watered a little, and he quickly blinked them back to normal. "Yeah..." He switched to my seat and hugged me lightly, and I felt my own eyes water a bit. To be honest, being with Killua again... really lighted me up on the inside.

"You know, today was really messed up... We broke up, then we met Zephile, then we got captured, and now Gon sets us up together again..." I murmured, just happy to be with Killua again. But then, I pulled away when I heard clapping. I looked to see Leorio and Zephile cheering us on, clapping.

"Hey Gon, where did you learn that advice?" Zephile asked, and Gon flushed a bit. "Mito-san told me all this, really..."

"Mito-san is cool then." I commented, slipping my hand into Killua's hand. "Sorry... I'll try to be more active in this relationship." Killua scoffed and poked my forehead.

"Shut up, you Royal Pain-in-the-ass..."


End file.
